


After the Catch

by Reader115



Series: Fog Catchers Alternate Universe [2]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-13
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-08-30 18:35:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8544631
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reader115/pseuds/Reader115
Summary: Snapshot follow-ups to the Fog Catchers alternate universe story (which I would read first).  Warning: T-cest (RxL). I don't own the turtles.





	1. After the Catch

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Sakycchan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sakycchan/gifts).



> A/N: Due to the fact that some of these ideas wouldn't leave me until I wrote them down, and add in the encouragement I received to share those ideas, I decided to start up a little side project to the Fog Catchers story. My disclaimer here is that these are just snapshots of the guys in this au, so this is not a story with a set timeline. I do have more written so there will be at least one more chapter added to this, and then possibly future chapters as ideas come to me.
> 
> Now, for the fun part of the author's note – since I definitely felt like I got the better end of the deal on my Fog Catchers work trade with Sakycchan, I asked Ninjazure to help me surprise her with a little gift. Included in this chapter is another amazing piece of artwork from Ninjazure, dedicated to Sakycchan and this series. I showed Ninjazure exactly what a "touristy" Space Needle picture looked like and asked if she could create the one Leo and Raph had taken. And although I said she didn't have to add in all the background – because good Lord it's a lot of background – she went ahead and painted ALL OF IT anyway. And the end result is amazing. Raph and Leo are adorable (and their expressions in that moment – PERFECT). And we also get a visual of the space needle, downtown Seattle, and Mt. Rainier. Thank you, Ninjazure, for your hard work. And I hope you love your sur-prize, Saky!
> 
> Go follow Ninjazure on Tumblr (or find her under Aleksosaurus on the DeviantArt site). Seriously, find her if only to see the visual she made for what would really happen if you stuck a turtle in front of a green screen.

The first time he noticed it was the day he and his brothers moved into Raphael's house.

Raph had had the majority of their belongings, including some furniture like Donnie's and Mikey's beds, packed into a small moving crate, which would be delivered in about a week. This left Mikey, at least, excited about sleeping on an air mattress until then. Leo wasn't sure Donnie shared Mikey's enthusiasm about the air beds, but at least he wasn't complaining about them. Most of Donnie's complaints had centered around _how_ his experiments were being packed, how _long_ it was going to be until he saw them again, and _exactly_ where he was going to set up shop in Raph's house.

But they'd each packed a few boxes of essentials, minus Donnie's precious experiments, that had traveled with them in Raph's rental car up to Blake Island. Leo's wrist was still in a cast and between that and his sore shoulder, he wasn't allowed to lift much, leaving Raph and Donnie to move the majority of their belongings inside. So he went to the room that Mikey and Donnie would be sharing in order to help Mikey unpack. His brothers were taking over what was technically the second bedroom in Raph's house, although it had been used more for storage, evidenced by the dusty home brew piping and the lack of a bed. Raph had assured them it was no big deal to move his stuff out of there. And the speed at which he'd emptied the room upon their arrival had Leo feeling reassured that Raphael truly wanted all three of them there. Invading his space.

Leo pulled another toy from one of Mikey's two boxes of essentials and realized that his youngest brother had packed only action figures and comics. Not exactly what Leo would call _essentials_ , especially when he couldn't find Mikey's bookbag in either of the boxes, but he kept his mouth shut since he wanted Mikey to be comfortable in their new home.

When Mikey seemed settled, he moved onto Raph's room and found one of his own boxes, his essentials mainly included clothes, sitting on the bed. He opened the box and found his two favorite photos right on top, both frames wrapped in clothes to protect them during the move. The first was the last family photo he had that included his father. He stared down at the four of them for a moment and hoped that his father would be pleased with their new living situation, even though it meant that Leo was officially giving up the bookstore. He'd kept this photo in his bedroom before, but decided he'd ask Raph if he'd mind it sitting out in the main room where his brothers could also see it.

Then he lifted out his other favorite photo, the one he and Raph had taken at the Space Needle just a few short weeks ago. He stared fondly down at the photo as he thought about what a turn his life had taken since that moment.

He smiled as Raph came up behind him and set down two more boxes before wrapping an arm around his middle and peering over his shoulder to see what he was looking at.

"Do you still have your copy?"

Raph pulled his phone from his pocket in response and swiped it open before handing it to Leo. Leo saw a small grin on Raph's face before Raph turned away in order to cut open one of the other boxes in the room. Leo turned his attention to Raph's phone and grinned again when he saw the same photo being used as Raph's background.

He moved his own framed photo to one of the bedside tables and was about to go back to unpacking when he stopped and took a moment to look around Raph's bedroom.

"Did you rearrange the furniture?"

Leo's eyes narrowed as he watched Raph freeze. And for a split second, Leo read _sadness_ _and_ _fear_ in those bright green eyes Raph had before Raph turned his shell to him and picked up another box to cut open.

"Just moved a couple things around," Raph finally said a moment later. "You can move the furniture any way you want, though. Well, I mean, _you_ can't." Raph glanced at Leo's casted wrist. "Just have me or Donnie move stuff if you want something in a different spot." Now that all the boxes were cut open, making it easier for Leo to unpack, he turned to leave the room with his eyes cast down towards the floor as he began to walk past Leo to exit.

The freedom to grab Raph and kiss him was still fairly new and Leo felt a small thrill as he did so now. Thankfully, Raphael seemed to relax against him immediately as their lips repeatedly pressed against each other. And when Leo pulled back, he was satisfied to see those former shadows gone from Raph's green eyes.

* * *

"You know, when you mentioned a movie theater, this isn't what I had a mind."

"No?" Raphael did his best to keep his smile off his face.

Leo edged one of their blanket's corners back down with his foot. They, and most of the other islanders, were set up on blankets and chairs in the grass behind the bowling alley, waiting for the projector to be set up so a movie could be screened against the building's back wall. He turned his head to watch Mikey and Woody chase each other around in the grass behind them and nodded a greeting to a few of his students when they said hello.

"We brought pizza!" Casey said as he and April reached the turtles and began setting up their own blanket. He turned to hand a box to Raph but Mikey appeared out of nowhere, intercepted it, and then ran off laughing.

"I'll get him." Donnie tried to sound put out, but he was grinning as he jumped up to chase after their little brother.

April smiled and handed Leo the next pizza box before she dropped the bags of popcorn they'd also brought.

Leo returned his attention to Raphael and lifted the lid of the pizza box to offer Raph a slice. "No. This is much better than what I was expecting."

"I'm glad you like it," Raph said. "They show em in a back room in the bowling alley during the cold months, though. And uh, there is indoor plumbing available in both the warm and cold months."

Leo huffed out a laugh and couldn't resist leaning over to kiss Raph quickly.

Donnie dropped to his seat again on the other side of Leo, triumphantly holding a pizza box.

"Leo!" Mikey whined as he came up behind Leo and looped his arms around Leo's neck. "Donnie stole my pizza!"

"You're six. You don't get a whole pizza to yourself," Donnie said.

"You can't eat it while you're running around anyway," Leo said, patting Mikey's hands. "The movie is going to start soon. Just come sit and I'll give you a slice."

Mikey sighed dramatically as he did his best to send big sad eyes to Donnie.

"That's not going to work," Donnie said without glancing at him.

"Come on squirt," Raph said, nudging Mikey's shell. "You can sit by me."

"Or me," April called, sending Mikey a big smile. "I have plenty of pizza over here."

Mikey fell off Leo's shell and rolled into Raph's lap with a laugh before finally moving over to April's side and accepting a slice of pizza.

April wrapped an arm around Mikey's little shoulders and gave him a squeeze. "He's even cuter than you were at this age, Raphie."

"Raphie?" Mikey immediately perked up.

"Uh oh," Donnie murmured around a bite of pizza.

Raph glanced at Donnie first and then noticed that Leo was sending him an apologetic look, while also trying to keep his lips from pulling up into a smile.

"Raphie!" Mikey jumped up, eyes lit up with excitement. "Best nickname ever!"

Raphael groaned and then turned to glare at his sister who was suddenly too busy talking to Casey to even look in his direction. He pointed a finger towards Mikey, "No way Mikey, or I'm going to start calling you Michelangelo full time."

Mikey was practically bouncing he was so excited. "Go for it, _Raphie_. That's a long name and you'll get tired of saying it way before I get tired of how cute Raphie is!"

"That's 100% true," Donnie said.

"Don't help, Donnie," Leo said.

Suddenly the outside lights were flipped off and the projector flipped on, which sent anyone still standing around quickly to their spot to sit. Even Mikey moved over to settle in between Donnie and Leo. Raph leaned back on the cushions they'd brought and tucked one arm around the back of his head. He watched Leo tilt his head to whisper something to Mikey, and when it looked like Leo was finished talking to Mikey, Raph used his free hand to slide his fingers down the back of Leo's arm. He watched Leo visibly shiver and smiled at the blue eyes that sparked in his direction, always pleased that he could have such an effect on the other turtle. Leo got the hint and leaned back to settle himself against the cushions as well. His fingers looped in with Raphael's and a moment later he released a small sigh.

Raph smiled towards the screen when he heard the contented sound from his new partner. He side-eyed the other two turtles and found Donnie offering Mikey another slice of pizza from the box he'd captured from the little one earlier. In turn, Mikey offered Donnie a relatively quiet _high three_ , something Raphael had never heard of until the other three turtles had come into his life. The two little brothers then turned their attention to the screen and Raph was relieved that Mikey seemed distracted with pizza and the promise of a new movie to remember his unfortunate nickname.

At least, Raph thought he was distracted, until he heard the little turtle start to whisper during the opening credits, "Raphie Raphie bo-baffie, banana-fana fo-faffy, fee-fy-mo-maphie, Raphie."

Leo squeezed Raph's fingers as he heard a deep sigh from Raphael.

* * *

The truth was, he just liked the way Raphael looked at him. That's why he stayed in bed every morning and waited for the other turtle to wake up. There was happiness and desire in Raph's green eyes that always made Leo wish they could stay in bed all day together. One glance from Raph evoked feelings that he'd never experienced with anyone before, and Leo liked being able to start his day in such a way.

Although, while Raph was clearly happy to see him every morning, there was also a small amount of relief in his expression, enough to give Leo a daily dose of guilt as he was forced to think about _why_ Raph would be relieved to see him in bed. But Leo wasn't going to complain about the guilt. Instead, he was going to be there every morning in Raph's bed so that one day Raph would wake up without the need to feel relief.

Plus, Leo enjoyed staying in bed because Raphael and Raphael's bed were extremely warm. And this island had been extremely cold the past few days, to the point where Leo was dreading the walk to the high school each morning. He snuggled himself closer to Raphael now and watched as Raph's eyes slid open to look at him.

Raphael smirked. "I can turn the heat up in the house."

"Won't help on the walk to work."

"Well, I might have something that _will_ help with that."

"Really?" Leo's voice was coy as his hand slid down Raph's plastron. "I'm not sure how this will help, but I'm willing to give it a try."

Raphael chuckled loudly as he caught Leo's hand before Leo could stir up something that would distract him from what he'd had planned for that morning. He pinned Leo down into the mattress and kissed him before quickly leaving the bed to head across the bedroom. Leo sat up and leaned his shell against the headboard as he bunched the covers up around himself to try to keep warm in Raph's absence.

"I do appreciate yer enthusiasm for tryin things." Raph turned to shoot Leo what was meant to be a heated look, but ended up pausing just to take in what a nice sight it was to see Leo tucked into what was now their shared bed. Then he turned back to his dresser and pulled out a small gift box before quickly returning to sit beside Leo. "So I have something else for ya to try."

Leo couldn't hide the surprise from his face as he gingerly took the box from Raphael. He lifted the lid and then huffed out a surprised laugh as he quickly slid his hands into three-fingered gloves. He flexed his fingers a few times in wonder at the perfect fit.

"Where did these come from?" While they'd had plenty of clothes tailored for their shells before, he'd never had anything for his hands.

Raph attempted a nonchalant shrug. "I made em."

"You – you made them? You know how to sew?" He glanced at Raph's similar hands and immediately pictured Raph using his own hands as models to size the gloves.

"No." Raph frowned as if the very thought was absurd. "They're knitted. I knit em for ya."

"The fact that you're correcting me makes the image of you creating this way more adorable."

Raph huffed out a breath. "It's not adorable. It's practical."

There was another knitted creation in the box and Leo went to pick up what he assumed was a hat, but quickly realized it had extra material that would also protect his neck from the impressive winds that crossed over the island. He slid it over his head and looked over to Raph with a grin.

Raph's own eyes lit up when he saw how well those blue eyes matched the blue of the knitted hood. He leaned over and captured Leo's mouth before pushing forward further to press his weight against Leo.

"Yer gonna be late to work today."

* * *

The next time he noticed it, he and Mikey had come home late.

Mikey had been extra bouncy when they arrived home after school. The island was too small for organized sports teams, which meant Mikey didn't have the usual after school outlets he'd had in their old home. And since he'd always been impressed with Michelangelo's ability to keep up with him on a run, the two of them changed clothes and took off for some exercise.

His intention was to be out for an hour, maybe less. But then Leo had let Mikey pick which direction to head, and Mikey made so many turns that they got lost. Ridiculously lost, especially considering the size of the island.

When they finally began walking up the front lawn of Raph's house, it was actually dark outside. But Leo immediately noticed that every single light inside the house was turned on. And they didn't even make it to the door before it swung open and Raphael filled the doorway.

Leo shook his head, since he was already dreading having to tell Raph that he apparently had a horrible sense of direction. Mikey sprinted ahead and quickly greeted Raph as he entered the house. But Leo stopped the second he glanced up and saw the look in Raph's wider than normal green eyes.

 _Sadness and fear_.

Leo approached Raphael, but kept his mouth shut about where he and Mikey had been. Raph didn't need the story right then. He and Mikey were clearly in running clothes, anyway. Instead, Leo leaned in to press his lips to Raph's lips. Hands tugged on his shell until he was pressed up against Raph's plastron as Raph enthusiastically kissed him back. Leo's fingers wrapped tight around Raph's neck and he was content to remain in that spot for as long as Raphael wanted to kiss him. Or he was until Donnie's voice interrupted them.

"This isn't a new toll to get into the house, right?"

Leo turned to grin at his younger brother as Donnie came up the front walk. He kept his hands on Raph but shifted the two of them to the side so they were no longer blocking the doorway.

"Will you keep an eye on Mikey for a second?" he called in after Donnie.

He didn't wait for an answer before he pulled Raph to the side of the house, where they could hide in the shadows, and then kissed him with a new urgency that Raph quickly returned. Fingers wandered over each other, Leo letting his own fingers pay close attention to the grooves in Raph's shell, as he'd noticed in the past that it always earned him a reaction from Raphael. Leo had a feeling that Raph's past partners hadn't appreciated his shell the way Leo did. Although, it could also be that feeling up Raph's shell usually led to groping Raph's tail, and Leo let his fingers slide down the back of Raph's pants now to play with the cute little appendage. Raphael churred at the tail grab and Leo pressed himself harder against Raphael as Raph's scent wafted up his nose.

"Smell good," Leo murmured as he freed Raph's mouth so that he could slide his tongue down Raph's neck.

"Dammit, Leo." Raph couldn't help but remember that Leo's brothers were inside waiting on them. But Leo's appreciation for his scent quickly knocked those thoughts away. Just as quickly as he had Leo's running shorts off and hoisted the other turtle up against the side of the house.

Leo wasn't worried about his brothers right now. What mattered to him most at this moment was the turtle he was currently wrapping his legs around. He grinned at Raph's ability to pick him up so easily, but his real pleasure came from the sheer look of adoration Raph's green eyes held for him. Raphael appeared happy, so Leo held onto him and let himself be happy too.

* * *

Leo took a moment to stretch in his classroom before he flipped off the lights and headed out to the main hallway. He said goodbyes to some of the other teachers who were also finally packing it up for the day. They'd had parent teacher conferences all afternoon and into the evening and it was always more work than teaching a classroom full of students.

Some of the parents seemed to actually want to know how their student was doing. However, most had just seemed curious about not only the new turtle on the island, but also what his intentions were for _their_ Raphael. The islanders clearly felt a certain amount of protectiveness for Raph, and Leo sort of found it endearing. To a point, anyway. He certainly didn't enjoy having to redirect conversations that tried to dive too far into his private life. Or his financial status. He frowned as he thought about the one parent who made a point of mentioning that Leo had _snagged the wealthiest bachelor on the island_.

All Leo really wanted right now from the wealthiest bachelor on the island was a hug. And maybe some dinner before he took Donnie and Mikey back to Raph's house so his little brothers could get to bed on time. And once Raphael helped get the restaurant to bed, Leo would be home waiting for him, with full intentions of getting Raph into bed.

These were his thoughts as he walked towards the restaurant, only to be stopped suddenly in his tracks as he watched the last being he'd ever expect to see on this island actually exit Raphael's restaurant.

"What are you doing here?"

Usagi's ears popped up when he heard Leonardo's voice and he offered a small smile when he spotted the turtle.

"I heard you were attacked," Usagi said, closing the distance between them as he looked over his former lover. "I wanted to check in on you."

Leo frowned back at the rabbit. "Why?"

"I was concerned for your well-being."

Leo crossed his arms.

"I was worried about you," Usagi insisted as he met Leonardo's eyes and was reminded how much he'd always admired the blue color.

Leo glanced towards the restaurant before he turned his attention back to Usagi. "Take a walk with me."

Usagi's ears perked up and he fell in step with Leonardo, letting the turtle lead the way.

"So the attack," Usagi began after a few moments of silence, "I read in the paper that it was your dad's old business partner?"

"Yes."

"And the court date is coming up soon? You'll have to go back to your hometown for that?"

"Yes."

"I still can't believe you sold your dad's bookstore and moved away from your hometown and -,"

"What are you really doing here, Usagi?" Leo asked, cutting him off.

Usagi frowned at him. "I told you." He watched as Leo continued to frown back at him. "Come on L. Someone -,"

"Don't call me L."

"Someone tried to kill you. And then you disappeared to this tiny island in the middle of nowhere with someone _you_ _just met_. I needed to know you were alright."

"I find it hard to believe you're here to check on me." After all, Usagi hadn't been all that concerned for him when he'd dumped him right after his father had died. He realized that being abandoned during a time when he could've really used a friend had stung more than Usagi's actual absence.

"I asked you to sell the bookstore and move in with me. The _exact_ thing you've now done with this turtle!" Usagi's eyes flashed with anger as he continued to frown at Leonardo. "Don't blame me for walking away when you refused to come with me."

"You wanted me to sell the bookstore and move in with you _without_ my brothers," Leo said in a slow, dark voice. "There's a huge difference between what you wanted and what Raphael offered."

"What was I going to do with two little turtles?" Usagi muttered as he turned away from Leo to stare out over the water they were passing. He was silent for another moment as they continued to walk. "So you're saying you got a better offer here? With the bartender?"

"If you want to be concerned for my well-being, then be happy for me that I not only found someone I love and who loves me, but who was more than happy to take in my little brothers as part of the deal." Leo listened as Usagi released an aggravated huff. He stopped walking and faced the rabbit. "So if you were really worrying about me, you can stop. I'm perfectly happy here." Leo lifted an arm and pointed towards the small marina he'd been walking Usagi to. "And if you hurry, you can make the next ferry back to Seattle."

* * *

The next time he saw it, he'd come to shore after a solo swim.

Leo had actually had a few hours to himself today. Raphael was working in the brewery, Mikey had gone home with Woody after school, and Donnie had somehow talked his chemistry teacher into letting him use the chem lab after school for some of his own private experiments. So Leo sent Raph a text and headed towards the water.

He wasn't in the same shape he'd been in back in college, when every weekend was filled with a swim meet. But he was still an excellent swimmer and he'd been underwater exploring for a long time before he finally returned to shore. The shore where a very worried turtle stood scanning the waves.

"Raph?" Leo panted out as he sucked in air. "Everything okay?"

"How fuckin long can you hold yer breath?"

Leo paused at Raph's angry tone. But then he rubbed a hand down his face to get the water out of his eyes and began wading back to the shore again. And when he got closer to Raphael, those green eyes showed him the most likely reason for Raph's anger. _Sadness and Fear_.

Leo zeroed his focus in on Raphael and watched as Raph realized only too late that he was charging him. Raphael landed on his shell with a grunt with Leo on top of him. Leo's mouth immediately captured Raph's mouth and he let one hand slide down Raph's side until he could start tugging at Raph's pants.

Whatever thoughts Raph had been having before about Leo missing beneath the waves disappeared as Raph's arms wrapped around the naked turtle on top of him. Leonardo's skin was slightly cool from the water and with Leo's current insistence that he lose his pants, Raph decided to take advantage of the fact that Leo was soaking wet. He rolled them to their sides so that he could help push his own pants off and hungrily met Leo's mouth again. A churr rolled up Leo's throat as he pushed him to his shell and climbed on top of him.

"Ya look good sprawled out in the sand like this," Raph murmured. Leo's hands tugged on his arms and as he pushed his way into Leo's body, he drank up the _take me_ look that he liked so much in Leo's blue eyes. He leaned down to kiss Leo again while he began stroking Leo in time with his own thrusts, determined to warm Leo up.

Leo wrapped one leg tight around Raphael and churred again as his shell was pressed further into the wet sand. It was all he could to hold onto Raphael as Raph churred in response and took care of both of them until they lay panting against each other.

"We don't normally get a lot of privacy during the day," Leo murmured after a few moments with a small grin. He massaged the back of Raph's neck, a silent request that Raphael stay exactly where he was. "I'm glad you came out here."

Raphael nuzzled his face further into Leo's neck. "Well, I'd like to say this wouldn't be as much fun if we got to do it out here all the time, but -,"

"But it wouldn't be the truth." Leo watched as Raph lifted his head to smile at him. And he grinned back at the warm and relaxed Raphael above him. "I love you, Raph."

"Love ya, too." Raph dipped his head and kissed Leo slowly before finally pushing off of him and then pulling Leo up with him to stand.

"You know I'm really happy here with you, right?" Leo asked as he watched Raph pull his own t-shirt off and toss it into the sand.

"Yeah, I do," he said without hesitation before pulling Leo into the water to help get the clumps of wet sand out of the grooves of Leo's shell.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Also, here's a link back to Flickr, which is kind enough to let me store my photos to be embedded in stories](https://flic.kr/p/VGh89J)


	2. Crossroads

"Mr. Hamato, can I speak with you?"

"Uh, sure, although you can call me Leo."

"Tom then," the other said with a friendly nod back to Leo before he glanced at the smaller turtle sitting in a desk in Leo's classroom.

"That's my youngest brother, Michelangelo."

Mikey's eyes popped up from his math worksheet and he offered a smile when the other teacher said hello to him.

"I just wanted to talk to you about your brother, Donatello. I understand you're his guardian?"

Leo nodded and stood from his desk, already worried. This was the school's chemistry teacher coming to speak with him after all.

"Is Donnie okay?"

"Yes, he's perfectly fine."

"The other students? Please don't tell me he blew up the lab."

Tom raised an eyebrow. "Is that a true concern of yours?" He didn't know Leo well enough to know if he was joking or not. "Because I've been letting him use the lab after school for his own projects."

"Oh, no. No. No. No. I mean, he probably wouldn't create an explosion large enough to blow up a whole room." Leo rubbed a slightly guilty hand across the back of his neck as he silently prayed that Donnie would not, one day, blow up the high school chem lab. "And small explosions are probably fairly common in chemistry, right?"

"Uh, no." Tom shook his head and looked _not at all_ convinced by Leo's less than stellar insistence that his top student was fine to be unsupervised with the chemicals. But he continued anyway. "Its just that, well I've been speaking with some of his other teachers, and I'm sure this isn't new information to you, but Donnie is quite advanced. To be honest, I'm not sure he's really gaining anything out of my classes."

Leo had a slight frown as he leaned his shell back against his desk. "So, you're what? Recommending that he skip to the next grade?"

Mikey's big blue eyes moved back and forth between Leo and this other teacher as they spoke. He could see Leo was getting worried, but he wasn't sure why.

"Well, not exactly. I was looking at his scores in his other subjects, and I think he'd really benefit from college-level classes."

Leo nodded slowly. "He has taken some college classes in the past. Which subjects would you recommend that he -,"

"All of them."

"All of them," Leo said with a resigned sigh.

"Just something to think about," Tom offered.

"I appreciate it." He said the words, even if he might not _really_ appreciate it. Still, he could appreciate that the other teacher wanted to encourage Donnie's potential.

"You know," Tom said, turning back to Leo on his way out, "listening to the kids around school, it sounds like they're enjoying your classes. I apologize if I didn't say it before, but welcome to the school."

"Thank you." In this, at least, he was sincere. It was a small island, after all, and most of the natives seemed wary of the newcomer. Lately, though, he'd noticed more and more of the teachers were greeting him, or even stopping him in the hallway to talk.

Tom left his classroom and Leo quickly packed up his laptop and asked Mikey to pack up his stuff as well. Leo headed straight for the chem lab and he paused outside the door for a moment just to watch Donnie at work at one of the lab tables. Mikey lifted up on his toes he could see through the glass window of the door as well.

"Are we spying?" Mikey whispered.

Leo huffed out a breath. "No. Just watching Donnie have fun." Leo pushed the door open and smiled when Donnie's head lifted. "We're headed out. You want to walk with us?"

"Sorry, bro. This needs to sit for twenty more minutes, then there's a few steps after that before I can leave it overnight. I'll probably be here about forty-eight more minutes."

"Forty-eight, huh?"

Donnie rolled his eyes at him but grinned at his brothers and waved them off as they turned to leave.

It was the answer Leo had expected, although now he at least had a timeline for when to expect Donnie back at the house. He led Mikey outside and walked home, too caught up in his own thoughts to even notice how quiet Mikey was being. They were inside and pulling their jackets off before Mikey finally spoke up.

"Why is college bad, Leo?"

Raphael came out of the kitchen when he heard them and watched as Leo froze at Mikey's question.

"It's not bad, Mikey."

"Then why didn't you tell Donnie that the other teacher wants to kick him out of his class?"

"Who wants to kick Donnie out?" Between Leo's forlorn expression and Mikey's question, Raph could feel his defensive spikes rearing up for his new little family.

"That's not what he said, Mikey," Leo said. He squeezed his little brother's shoulder reassuringly. "And I will talk to Donnie about it later when he's not in the middle of an experiment. Hey, you have free time until dinner, so if you want to play you'd better -," he didn't even have to finish the sentence before Mikey took off for his room.

Raphael took the few steps required to reach Leo and wrapped him up in a hug, which Leo quickly reciprocated, happy to have a partner who offered physical comfort so freely.

"So what's up?" Raph murmured as he felt Leo nuzzle his face into his neck.

"They want Donnie to go to college."

Raphael waited for Leo to continue and frowned when he didn't. He pulled his head back enough to meet Leo's eyes and tightened his arms around Leo's shell when he saw the sad, lost look he hated.

"Come on." He pulled Leo into the kitchen with him since he'd left food on the stovetop. "You want a drink?" He raised his eye ridges repeatedly at Leo and then glanced at the vodka samples he kept stored above fridge until Leo relented and laughed.

"No thank you," Leo said with a smile. He sat himself down at the kitchen table, already feeling lighter than he'd been five minutes before, and realized this was the reason he'd rushed home from school. For the first time in his life, he had someone he could truly lean on. Someone who _wanted_ Leo to lean on him.

"Oh come on, Fearless. I don't have any fog vodka samples yet, but I have one I'm thinkin about callin the blue ninja."

"Blue huh?" Leo's blue eyes sparked up at Raphael from where he sat. "Well if the red ninja sneaks up and bites you in the ass, what's this one's special talent?"

Raphael moved to the chair where Leo sat and let his hands land on either side of Leo to grip the table, trapping Leo between his arms. "Pretty sure this one is gonna suck ya dry once it gets ya into bed." He earned a grunt from Leo as he captured his mouth and spent the next few minutes twisting his tongue with Leo's tongue.

"I doubt April will let you put that motto on the label," Leo murmured once his mouth was free again.

Raphael chuckled and moved back to the sauce he was trying not to burn. "So what's wrong with Donnie going to college?" Is it the money? Because I can pay for his tuition no prob-,"

"No, Raph, no," Leo shook his head and huffed out a deep breath. "You don't let me pay for anything around here as it is. And Donnie has his share from dad's bookstore and our old building. He doesn't need money for college."

"College?"

Leo's head whipped around at the sound of Donnie's voice and he immediately kicked himself for not listening more closely to the front door. He thought he had at least forty-eight minutes to discuss this with Raph and come up with a way to get out of discussing college with Donnie. Because Donnie had enjoyed those classes he'd been taking before, and Leo could already see the excited interest on his brother's face.

"Yes, college," Leo said, trying quickly to cover their conversation. "You can pay for your own college classes, eventually."

"Eventually?"

Donnie stared hard at Leo and Leo's eyes sank to the floor, because Donnie was really too smart for his own good.

"Leo, come on. I'm bored senseless in my classes. I know you wanted me to have this whole high school experience and try to fit in -,"

"Not just to fit in," Leo said. Because like it or not, they were always going to stand out.

"Leo, I can't tell you the number of times my math teacher has written something out across the board and then asked me if it was correct. You're in that school every day with those kids. Do you honestly think I'm fitting in there?"

"We just got here," Leo insisted. "Plus, you're only fifteen. I'm not even sure that legally you could move away to a campus."

"I'm practically sixteen and -,"

"The four of us have a good life here, Donnie. A good routine."

Raphael wanted to grin at Leo's words, but he was stuck feeling helpless as he watched Leo and Donnie go back and forth.

"At least you're finally admitting that me going to high school is more about you than about me."

"It's about _us_ ," Leo insisted. "And I just – I just wanted you to spend some time here before you went off to college so that you'd -," Leo paused, unsure how to say what he wanted.

"Feel like this place was home," Raphael said, speaking up for the first time as he watched Leo struggle for the right words.

Leo's blue eyes met his gratefully before he nodded back to Donnie. "And if you felt like this was home, you'd want to come back."

Donnie paused for a minute. He'd assumed Leo wanted him in high school because Leo liked to worry and he could keep a closer eye on him if they were in the same building all day. Leo trying to make this new place his _home_ hadn't occurred to him.

"Leo, even if I left - ," but his words were cut off when he was nearly knocked over by a small tornado barreling into the room. Mikey wrapped what felt like octopus arms around his legs and he scrambled to grab a countertop before he could be dragged to the ground.

"You can't leave me." Muffled words were spoken into the cloth of his jeans and Donnie stilled and quickly met Leo's eyes.

Words weren't needed for this moment, as Donnie could tell that Leo's thoughts likely mirrored his own. Mikey was good natured and generally happy, but he'd had several major changes in his short life including his own adoption, their father's death, Leo moving in with them, and then the move to the island away from his old friends. Donatello was well aware that he had been the only constant in Michelangelo's life. He could feel his will to fight for college wilt as he thought about what a blow his leaving would be to the little turtle.

Leo rubbed a hand down his face and repressed a sigh. Because for the eighty bajillionth time since their dad had died, he felt like he was in over his head with his brothers. But then a warm hand landed on his shoulder, reminding him again that he was no longer alone, and his eyes rose to meet Raph's eyes.

"How about a compromise?" Raph murmured. He wasn't sure if he should try to talk to Leo privately first before making a suggestion in front of everyone, but Leo and his brothers were already in the middle of the conversation, so he was going to go for it. "If you ferry into Seattle, there's actually a campus within walking distance. It's where April went. She'd go to her classes and still came home every night. She even bunched her classes together so she only ferried over three days a week."

Mikey was the first to react. He loosened his grip around Donnie's legs and turned his head enough so that he could look up at Donnie. Donnie's eyes were full of hope again as he grinned at Raphael and then looked expectantly at Leo.

"Is that safe?" Leo asked, turning his full attention to Raphael. "I mean, is the walk through a safe part of the city?"

"Well, April did it without any trouble. We could have her show us the route if ya want. You can check it out."

Leo looked tentatively back at Donnie. "That sounds okay to you?"

Donnie stopped trying to pry Mikey's arms off of him and wrapped a hand around one of Mikey's shoulders instead as he nodded quickly and spoke. "Yes."

Leo sighed. It was certainly a compromise. He wouldn't have the same safe feeling he had knowing Donnie was walking the halls where he was teaching. But he had to admit, as a teacher, that Donnie needed more than he could get in his high school classes.

"Turtles first," he murmured and Donnie, with Mikey still attached to him, nearly fell over trying to get to Leo's side. But he managed enough so that he could hug Leo's shoulders in thanks.

"I'll ask April if she's free this weekend to show us the way," Raph said as he happily returned the high three Donnie offered him.

"But we won't leave him there?" Mikey asked, peering around one of Donnie's legs to send big blue puppy dog eyes to Leo.

Leo reassured Mikey that they wouldn't be leaving Donnie anywhere, to which Mikey finally released Donnie's legs so that Donnie could leave the kitchen without stumbling. Leo watched Mikey follow him and figured that Mikey would likely be glued to Donnie's side for the rest of the evening after that little scare.

Raphael went back to the food he had on the stovetop, although he was soon interrupted again when Leo's arms wrapped around his middle from behind.

"I don't know what I'd do without you," Leo murmured.

"It's not that big a deal," Raph said. "Ya woulda figured out that solution sooner or later."

"I don't think so. He talks about leaving and I panic. I swear part of my brain shuts down. Without you, we probably would've just kept going back and forth all night." Leo kissed the side of Raph's neck. "I need you," he whispered.

Raph squeezed a hand over one of Leo's. "You got me," he murmured back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I meant this to be a small snapshot about Donnie going to college and it turned into a gazillion words all on its own, which means all those other snapshots I had planned for chapter 2 are still coming!


	3. Accepting Tea and Toast

Raph shifted in his sleep. Damn he was hot. Although, the thought made a sleepy smile cross his face since anytime he mentioned how hot he was, Leo always countered it by letting those blue eyes slowing rove over him before agreeing with him.

He slid his tired eyes open to look at Leo now and found the other turtle practically burrowed underneath him. Leo was cold more often than not, which often led to him curling himself against Raph when they slept, something Raph looked forward to on a nightly basis.

But Raph soon realized why he was so hot tonight as he lifted a hand to Leo's face and found that Leo was burning up. Raph slowly shifted himself away from the other turtle, which resulted in some disgruntled noises from the still sleeping Leo. He left their bed, but returned a few moments later with a thermometer which he quickly ran across Leo's forehead.

"Shit," he murmured when the thermometer confirmed that Leo had a fever. He left their bed again only to return this time with a washcloth prepped with cold water which he spread across Leo's forehead.

Leo groaned pitifully as he rolled onto his shell and pried his eyes open to find Raphael in the darkness.

"Ya picked up whatever bug is going around the school," Raph murmured softly to him.

Leo groaned again and shut his eyes against the headache he could feel in both temples. "I'll move out to the couch."

"Don't be ridiculous."

"If I stay in your bed, you'll get sick too."

"Our bed," Raph corrected as he stood again and left Leo's side once more. "And I don't get sick that easily," he said as he returned with some medication. He helped Leo sit up just enough to get the pills down and then readjusted his washcloth.

"Can't be sick," Leo groaned out.

"I'll call the school later when someone will be in the office. Its short notice but I bet they can get a sub in by mid-morning."

"I already have a sub today, remember?"

Raph forced his brain away from his worry over Leo's condition and refocused on why Leo would have a sub already set up for the day. He groaned himself when he remembered what today was, and then eyed Leo.

"Now I think ya got sick on purpose, Fearless."

Leo smiled, although it was rather weak, and slowly shook his sore head. "They're going to have to cancel the trip. They can't go without a certain number of adults. He's going to be so disappointed."

Now it was Raphael who was shaking his head. "No he ain't. I'm his big brother now too, right? I'll just go in yer place."

Leo forced his eyes open once more to eye Raphael. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

"No," Raph grumped as he settled himself back in their bed. "But I'm gonna do it. He's been crossing days off on the calendar in the kitchen leading up to today. Hell, I remember looking forward to this trip when I was in school too. It's a right of passage around here."

Raph glanced back at Leo and stilled when he saw the appreciation Leo's blue eyes were sending his way.

"I want to kiss you," Leo murmured.

Raph chuckled. "Hey, I said I rarely get sick, not that I've entirely immune." Still, he pulled Leo in close and kissed the top of his head.

"You are gonna owe me, though," he whispered as Leo drifted back to sleep.

* * *

Leo drifted in and out of sleep for the rest of the day. He woke when the annoying alarms Raph had set went off, signaling that it was time for him to take more medication. The smell of freshly brewed tea woke him in the afternoon and he found it, along with some toast, on the bedside table. He ate and drank what he could before dozing off again. When he next woke, it was because he could hear voices in the kitchen.

"If ya turn it up that high, you'll set the kitchen on fire."

"Like Leo did?"

"Yeah, like Leo did."

Leo pulled Raph's pillow over his head as loud chuckling drifted into the room.

"And you don't let it run the whole time. As soon as the kernels stop poppin, you open the microwave door. But don't touch the bag, it'll burn ya."

"Got it!"

Footsteps headed towards the bedroom and Leo felt the bed dip as Raphael sat next to him and pulled the pillow from his head. Leo blinked up at him as Raph leaned over and kissed his forehead. His lips were quickly replaced by the back of his hand as he did his best to gauge Leo's temperature.

"Feelin better?"

"Little bit. How'd it go today?"

"Do ya know what a group of kids should be called?" Raph asked as he leaned over to rub Leo's shoulders.

Leo groaned at the massage before saying, "Um, a flock?"

"A migraine."

"I'm sorry, Raph."

Raphael only chuckled. "Didja see April when she stopped by earlier?"

Leo paused, because he honestly couldn't remember if he'd seen April today or not. "Wait, I had tea and toast sitting here earlier. Did you tell her to come over and check on me?"

"Yeah."

"Raph."

Leo's voice was full of protest and Raphael watched with confusion as Leo's face seemed to only grow more anxious.

"What?"

"Not only did you miss a day of work, and apparently earn a migraine because of it, but you also asked April to interrupt her day to come over here?"

"I wasn't leavin ya alone all day by yerself, and -,"

"I wasn't alone. I had your alarms."

"April was more than happy to check on ya."

Raphael tilted his head and watched as Leo shook his own head, clearly still displeased.

"Hey, Leo." He waited till Leo was looking at him before he continued. "Yer not on yer own anymore ya know." He pressed his fingers into the cartilage of Leo's exposed plastron and applied pressure as his fingers trailed down the center line. Leo's eyes slid shut as he exhaled a deeply relaxed breath. "I want to take care of you. And so do yer brothers. And so does my sister. Hell, Casey would've come over here to make ya toast if I told him ya needed it."

Leo huffed out a small laugh as he pictured Raph's best friend over here waiting for toast to pop up so he could bring it to a sick Leo. He hadn't had a lot of one-on-one time with Casey, unless he counted the time Casey had cornered him and threatened physical harm if Leo ever broke Raph's heart again. He'd actually appreciated the threat at the time, because it had broken the ice between them and given Leo a chance to assure Casey that he had no intentions of ever hurting Raphael again.

Leo watched as Raph's eyes seem to follow his own fingers as they continued to press soothingly into his plastron. Raphael was right, he decided. Everyone, even Casey, would come over to help if it was needed. Just one more benefit to this new life that Raphael had given him.

"I love you, Raph," he murmured and watched as Raph's eyes, slightly surprised by the random admission, rose to meet his.

"I love ya too, Leo. And that's why yer gonna let me take care of ya without any more complaining."

Leo smiled. "Tell me about today."

"Well, we managed not to lose any kids over the side of the boat."

"Did you actually see any whales?"

"Oh yeah."

"What'd Mikey think?"

"He - ," Raph paused and thought about the look of awe on Michelangelo's face at the first whale sighting. "Well, I don't think his eyes could've gotten any bigger."

"I've never been on a whale-watching trip. I'm kind of disappointed I missed it."

"I'll take ya out another day. We'll all go, since I'm betting that means Donnie's never been either. Just count yerself lucky to have missed today. I spent the whole field trip being asked to _watch this_ and then had to pretend to be impressed for some unidentifiable skill."

Raph's mouth twisted up in a grin and Leo's own lips lifted into a smile as he wondered if Raph knew how adorable he was as he pretended to be put out by the attention of kids who clearly wanted to impress him.

"Raphie!" Mikey's voice

Raph sighed. "I asked him not to yell cause yer head hurt. I did learn one thing today. Its not just Mikey, apparently no kid that age has volume control." 

"Sorry, Leo," Mikey said as he came swinging around the doorframe and hopped into their room.

"Its okay, Mikey. Did you have fun today?"

"Yes! I got to show everyone my new big brother! And Raph knew what every part of the ship was called! And all the other kids loved him! And now we're going to have movie night!" Mikey turned back to Raphael, "The popcorn is ready, but I didn't touch it."

"Can you go grab us a couple bowls?"

"Yup, bye Leo!"

Leo watched him go with a smile. "Sounds like he really missed me today."

"Hey, he mentioned ya a couple times," Raph said quickly. "He really thought you would've liked the whales."

"Pft. Did you notice he didn't even mention the whales? He only talked about his day with _you_. You know you've got hero status with him, right?"

Leo watched Raph duck his face and try to hide a smile. Despite spending it with a flock of migraines, he'd clearly enjoyed his day.

"Why do you have to be so adorable when I'm sick?"

Raph leaned in and bumped his nose against the side of Leo's face. "I'm not adorable."

"Oh yes you are."

"I've got bowls, Raph!"

"You're being summoned."

Raphael nodded and stood from the bed before he leaned over to let his hand rest on Leo's forehead once more. "Yer still pretty warm, especially for you. Try to go back to sleep."

"Where's Donnie?"

"He's working out in his shed. I'm gonna go get him, though, and force him to watch the movie with us."

"Thanks, Raph."

"I'll be back after Mikey is in bed. And after I get him to school tomorrow, I'll be back to spend the day with ya."

"What a waste."

"What?"

"Spending the whole day in bed with you, but I'll be too sick to enjoy it. Kind of a waste." Leo cut his eyes up at Raph and sent him a half grin.

Raphael leaned down and kissed his forehead again. "We'll see about that."

Raph's voice was gruff and Leo shivered as he watched Raph leave the room. Then he rolled back to his plastron with a small grin. Apparently, just that good looking turtle's _voice_ was going to have an effect on him, even if he was sick.

Then he closed his eyes and thought about how lucky he was that he didn't have to worry about anyone else right now. He could just rest. Because that good looking turtle was taking care of it all for him, leaving Leo able to drift off to sleep thinking only of Raphael.


	4. Home Brewing Leo & Reassuring Raphael

Raphael made good on his promise to join Leo in bed on day two of his illness, even though Leo spent the majority of the morning asleep. When he woke later and found Raphael sitting beside him reading a magazine, he curled himself around Raphael's thighs, grateful for the company, even if he muttered that he was sorry Raph was missing another day of work.

"I own the brewery and half the restaurant, so I don't quite have to worry about sick days the way you do, ya know," Raph replied with a smirk as he pried Leo off his legs and pushed the other turtle onto his shell. He scooted down the bed a bit to sit beside Leo's middle as Leo's confused eyes stared up at him. "Besides, the alcohol doesn't need me there every day. Have I ever told you all the steps in brewing beer? There's actually a lot of waiting involved."

Leo's brain was still feeling fuzzy, so he tilted his head at the mischievous look in Raphael's eyes and slowly shook his head. Then he slid his eyes shut with a pleased groan as Raph's hands were suddenly on him, massaging over his sore neck and shoulders, the muscles stiff after being confined to the bed for over a day.

"Well, first you get all yer ingredients and boil em together, saving any special ingredient for the specific flavor of that batch for the end. That gets added in the last five minutes of the boil, along with the hops."

"The stinky stuff," Leo murmured as he tilted his head one way and then another as Raph continued to massage. Between Raph's magical fingers on his sore neck and Raphael's rumbling voice, Leo was quickly relaxing into the mattress.

"Yup," Raph said, leaning forward so that his lips and tongue could slide over Leo's neck. "Cept I think it smells pretty damn good."

Leo inhaled quickly at the unexpected contact and was quickly treated to Raphael's unique scent. His body reacted quickly, and all of his muscles that had been previously relaxing suddenly sparked, awake and interested.

Then Raphael leaned back, pulling his mouth away from Leo as he let his fingers begin to massage down one of Leo's arms. "Course, then you dump the mixture into cool water, add yeast, and cap it with an airlock." When Leo's eyes peered open to look at him, he grinned back at the first remnants of that _take me_ look he could see beginning to rev up in those blue eyes. He leaned forward as if to treat Leo's neck to his tongue again, but instead only murmured, "And ya gotta have patience, cause then it has to sit and ferment for a week."

He sat back in his seat again and Leo's mouth fell open in protest. "A week?"

"If ya want the best results, ya can't rush these things, Fearless," Raphael rumbled at him.

Leo closed his eyes against Raph's smirk and went back to concentrating on Raphael's fingers moving over his arms. First one, and then the other.

It wasn't until Raphael began to apply a soothing pressure to the cartilage in Leo's plastron that he finally began speaking again. "The next step is to move the mixture to another container, without disturbing any of the sediment." His fingers traced over Leo's slit and he grinned again when Leo sucked in another breath, before he let his fingers trail down to Leo's bare legs. "And as you can imagine, that step takes pretty steady hands."

"Raph," Leo huffed as he felt Raph's fingertips press into his thighs.

"Patience," Raphael said. "I'm not done tellin ya all the steps yet."

All of Leo's aches had disappeared as his sole focus became gaining relief for his tingling nerves from the turtle he was pretty damn sure was teasing him.

Raphael moved to lay on his own side beside Leo then as his smirk softened into a smile. "Where was I?" he asked as one of his hands drifted down Leo's plastron once more. "Oh, right, steady hands." His palm applied pressure to Leo's slit and Leo nearly gasped at the unexpected but welcomed sensation. "And once you've moved yer mixture to a new container, ya got to add a little sugar to it."

With Raph's palm still providing a warm pressure to his groin, Leo shut his eyes and tilted his head back when Raph's mouth _finally_ landed on his neck again.

"I love the sugar step," Leo murmured.

Raphael chuckled as he pulled his head away once again. "Well, then next -,"

"There's more?" Leo's voice was breathless as he tried not to protest the loss of Raph's mouth.

"Definitely. If ya drink it now, it'll taste like crap." His smirk was back as he rubbed his palm back and forth over Leo's now expanding slit. Leo's breathing had increased. And those pupils staring up at him were dilating by the second.

"If I was bottling the beer, I'd fill the bottles next, cap em, and then store em in a cool, dark room. For two to three weeks." With that, he pulled his hand away from Leo.

"What?" Leo's eyes popped open again as he bit back a whine. "You're not seriously that patient."

Half of Raph's mouth quirked up. "I have years of experience being patient for the right brew, Leonardo."

Leo's look of bewilderment at the loss of the delicious pressure from his groin was turning into his own smirk as he realized his brain was beginning to actually function again.

"You've been brewing kegs for years. Because you hate to bottle. You _don't_ have the patience."

Raph's head lowered and his mouth leached back onto Leo's neck. "Damn right," he murmured and felt his own need for pleasure grow as he earned a groan from Leo. He pulled on Leo so that the other turtle was suddenly on his side facing him and then happily felt Leo's fingers trail up his arm. "The good news is that in order to keg properly, ya have to pressurize the tank by giving it a charge." He shifted himself forward so that he could rub his own lower plastron against Leo.

"Jeezus," Leo gasped as his fingers dug into Raph's biceps as he was treated to his own kind of charge.

"Although, it's still not ready to drink then either."

"Raph," Leo groaned, ready to glare at the turtle if he thought about teasing him any longer.

Raphael dragged his plastron across Leo's slit again, pleased when a loud churr rumbled up Leo's throat and filled the room.

"A keg doesn't have to sit as long as the bottles, though. Just a couple days."

"Too long," Leo whispered as he wrapped a leg around Raph's hip and tried to pull him close again.

"I agree," Raphael said right before a churr rolled up his own throat. He leaned down to suck on Leo's neck again as his hand returned to rub insistently over Leo's slit. He dropped down himself and then quickly wrapped his hand around the both of them when Leo finally released himself from the tight confines of his plastron.

"Raph," Leo gasped at the first stroke of Raphael's warm hand. He moaned out Raph's name again and again while he listened to Raph groan into his neck before lifting his head to rest his forehead against Leo's. Leo was sweating for a whole new reason now and he arched his hips up towards Raphael encouragingly with each of Raph's strokes.

Raph was mesmerized by the hungry look in those blue eyes as Leo began to tremble beside him. Then he figured it would be damn well worth getting sick as he finally let his mouth capture Leo's mouth and groaned when their tongues twisted happily together.

Leo's fingers dug into Raphael's arms once again as he thrust his hips forward one last time with a loud churr that made him grateful Raphael didn't have any close neighbors. He threw his head back and groaned through his well-earned release as Raphael nuzzled his face back into Leo's neck and did the same. Raph felt another small churr roll up his throat as he panted and watched Leo come down from his high.

"I've heard its best to sweat out a fever," Raph said to him with a brand new smirk when Leo's satisfied eyes met his once again.

Leo grinned back at him. He had to admit, his head didn't feel all that fuzzy at the moment. Still, he couldn't resist teasing back. "I think they mean that you should use steam. Like from a shower."

Raphael hummed as if thinking as his smirk widened. "Guess its shower time then, Fearless."

Leo yelped as he was suddenly lifted from the soiled sheets and carried off to the bathroom. Raph even managed to turn on the water with just one hand and Leo was deposited under the spray once it was the right temperature, all with Raphael chuckling at Leo's surprised face.

Seeing that Leo was slightly unsteady on his feet, he kept his hands on him as he helped Leo quickly soap up and rinse off. Then he wrapped Leo in a towel and when Leo requested a few minutes alone in the bathroom, he took the opportunity to replace the sheets on the bed. When Leo rejoined him in the bedroom, he was seated on the bed and back to reading his magazine.

Leo couldn't help but smile as Raph scolded him for being up and walking around. He climbed back into the bed and sighed happily against not only the fresh sheets, but the warm turtle who pulled him up close and began to run his fingers up and down his arm until he was back to sleep.

* * *

Leo rolled away from Raphael and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He stood slowly and stretched before fixing the blanket over the sleeping Raphael. After pulling on a pair of sweatpants and silently padding out to the main room, he pulled his laptop from his bag and settled on the couch. According to the laptop, it was 1:23 in the morning. Despite his yawning, he couldn't sleep. Although, since he'd been in bed for the past two days, he figured it wasn't terribly strange that his body's sleep-wake cycle was confused.

And so he decided if he was awake, and if his brain was working, he may as well try to catch up on two days worth of work. He logged into his school account and pulled up the folder for his American history class. The students had a paper due this week and it looked like most of them had emailed it to him on time. He pulled up the first paper and settled his shell further into the cushions as he began to read.

An hour later and he was feeling pretty pleased to be grading his fourth paper already. And, bonus, he was also starting to feel tired. So when he heard what he was sure were Raph's feet hitting the ground and moving towards the main room, he began to log himself out of the system, sure that Raph was about to come mother hen him back into bed. His eyes rose to greet the other turtle, but he stilled when he spotted Raph's eyes.

 _Shit_. Leo cringed and guilt twisted his stomach as he realized his fever-rattled brain hadn't thought about what it would mean to Raphael if he woke up in bed alone. He moved his laptop to the coffee table where his feet had been resting, the light from the screen providing the only illumination in the room, and then met Raph's eyes again. He watched Raphael try to shift his expression by scrubbing both hands down his face. But Leo had already seen it. _Sadness and fear_. And he was too weak to pounce Raph right now, even though he once again had the desperate urge to physically wrap himself around Raphael in reassurance.

"I couldn't sleep," Leo said, his voice sounding lame to his own ears. "I thought I'd get some work done."

Raphael moved to the couch and let one of his hands land on Leo's leg as he slumped down on the soft leather next to Leo. Leo twisted himself sideways so he could face Raphael as he made the decision to broach this uncomfortable topic that he'd cowardly let live between them for too long. He moved his own hands to Raph's shoulders and then slid them up to cup the other turtle's face. He leaned forward as if to kiss Raphael but stopped inches away in order to whisper, "I'm sorry I wasn't where you thought I was going to be. Again."

Raphael tried to pull his face away but Leo's fingertips pulled at the back of his neck and held strong.

"I'm sorry I hurt you."

Raphael shook his head and Leo finally released him. But Raphael wasn't pulling away. If anything, he scooted closer to Leo as he pulled Leo's hands into his own.

"Don't want ya to apologize again."

"But Raph - ," Leo paused and sighed. "I did this to you, right? Were you this worried with others in the past?"

"It's not the same thing," Raph said, dropping his eyes to examine one of Leo's palms as his thumb ran across it. "You just can't be compared to anyone else, Leonardo."

And suddenly Leo didn't care that he was still feeling weak from his illness. He pushed himself forward until he was straddling Raph's lap and had his arms wrapped around Raph's shoulders in a tight hug.

Raph's arms went around his shell as he hugged him back, and before he lost his nerve, he whispered into the side of Leo's neck, "I've never had this much to lose."

Leo's head popped up and he made sure those green eyes were focused on him before he spoke. "You are not going to lose me."

Raphael stared back at the fierce conviction shining out of Leo's blue eyes. He knew that Leo loved him and he was pretty sure Leo was happy here on the island. But, for some reason, just having Leo say the words was suddenly important as well.

"And you're not going to lose Donnie or Mikey," Leo added, because he wasn't blind. He knew his little brothers had grown attached to Raphael, and he could see how fond Raph had grown of the other two turtles as well. "We're not going anywhere, Raphael. Not unless -,"

"Unless what?" Raph's muscles tensed and his shell straightened as he pounced on the word as soon as it came out of Leo's mouth.

Leo paused but kept his eye contact with Raphael. He could see the lingering fear there and he did his best to choose his words carefully. "Raph, when you came looking for me in my family's bookstore, I'm betting you weren't expecting to bring me and two kids back home with you, right?"

Raphael relaxed his shell back into the couch as he quickly realized where Leo was going. "Donnie probably wouldn't appreciate you calling him a kid," he said dryly.

"That was a really quick decision, though, Raph. And now that we're actually here and you can see the reality of us crashing your life, I just - ," Leo paused again. "I worry that you might feel trapped. And if you did, you're too nice a guy to just kick us out."

"You're givin me too much credit. I'm not that nice."

Leo stared back at Raphael's green eyes and read the amused patience he could see there. More than anything, he wanted to believe that Raphael was happy with all the new changes he and his brothers had brought to Raph's life. He opened his mouth to continue but stopped when Raphael slid his hands under his thighs, and in one quick motion, despite the fact that Leo was in his lap, he pushed himself up off the couch. He managed to make the whole maneuver appear effortless as he stood and began to carry Leo back to their bedroom.

Leo kept his arms wrapped around Raph's shoulders and wrapped his legs around Raph's waist, but he nuzzled his face against Raphael's face as he was carried and murmured, "You're a seriously strong turtle, Raphael."

Raphael's only response was to turn his head and kiss Leo as he made his way into the bedroom. He used one foot to slowly close the door, trying to keep the noise down so as to not awaken the other two turtles in the house. Then he settled Leo back in bed before quickly joining him.

Leo let himself be pulled close, the irony not lost on him that he was practically pinned to the bed by Raph's weight as he asked the question, "Would you tell me if you felt trapped?"

"Maybe I like bein trapped." Raph's tone was almost teasing. He wasn't worried about any of these particular concerns that seemed to be bothering Leo. But when he saw that Leo still looked worried, he squeezed him a little tighter and tried again to soothe. "Leo, my life and my house and my routine are definitely changed now that you three are here. And I like _all_ of it better this way." He let his fingers trace over the grooves in Leo's shell for a moment. "I don't want ya to worry about that anymore."

"I'm not going anywhere, Raphael." Leo's eyes were fierce once again as he repeated his earlier statement. "I love you."

Raphael let himself sink a little further into their bed, a strange relief seeping out of his shoulders.

"Love ya too, Leo."


	5. Ours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I told myself I wasn't going to write any more before the holiday, mainly because I have a long list of things to do and a work project I really need to be focusing on. But here's a chapter I wrote anyway. Happy Thanksgiving to my American friends!

"Donnie?"

Donnie turned in his seat in Raph's direction and hungrily eyed the pot Raph held up in question.

"Yes, please." He held up his plate of noodles and happily accepted several meatballs.

Raphael moved around the table and stopped behind Woody and Mikey next. "Woody?"

Woody turned to Mikey first. "Do you like meatballs?"

Leo watched Mikey from where he sat across from him, sure that Mikey was going to turn to him next, and when he did, Leo was ready to reassure him that he did indeed like meatballs. However, instead, Leo watched Mikey twist around to look up at Raphael instead.

"Do _you_ like meatballs, Raph?"

"Course I do," Raph said patiently even though he was still standing with his hands full with a wooden spoon and the heavy pot. "And I made these with my grandma's special recipe."

"Then I like them, too!" Mikey said as he spun back around in his seat and watched as Raphael spooned a few onto first his plate and then Woody's.

Raphael moved to Leo's plate next and watched as Leo grinned into his glass and pointedly avoided Raphael's eyes. All of which told him he was surely going to hear about his continued reign of hero in Mikey's eyes later. He scooped meatballs onto Leo's plate anyway, then finally finished making up his own plate of spaghetti and joined the others at the table.

"So how'd it go today?" Leo asked, waiting for Raph to be seated before he finally asked Donnie about his important day.

"I'm all registered. The next round of classes begins in a couple weeks."

"You get what you wanted?" Raph asked.

"Yeah, and they even helped me bunch them like you suggested, so I'll only go three days a week."

"Ya tell me which return ferry ya think ya can catch on those days and I'll talk to the ferry drivers. Make sure they don't leave without ya."

"I'll give you guys a copy of my schedule," Donnie said, sending Leo a smile since he was pretty sure Leo would ask for it anyway. "But that'd be great. Thanks, Raph."

Raphael nodded in return, although he was having a hard time concentrating on what Donnie was saying with Leo also thanking him by sliding his fingers up Raph's thigh under the table.

Donnie took another bite and turned his attention to Mikey. College was still a sticky subject around the little turtle. And even though Mikey had gone with them on the campus tour a few weeks ago, and seemed to understand that Donnie wouldn't be _moving_ there, he'd still crawled into Donnie's bed that night with his octopus arms and wordlessly clung to him. It reminded Donnie of how Mikey spent the first few weeks after their father's death, and he didn't have the heart to force Mikey back into his own bed.

And Mikey was clearly listening to the conversation now, evidenced by the fact that he was sitting silently at the table with worried blue eyes. Donnie did his best to offer his baby brother an encouraging smile and received a small half smile in return. There wasn't much more he could do to put Mikey's fears to rest, other than just start going to classes and coming home every night. So he turned his attention to Mikey's friend, and became quite interested in the little curly haired boy's actions since he seemed to be closely examining one of his meatballs with both his fork and knife.

"Are you interested in science, Woody?" Donnie asked. "You appear to be dissecting your meatball."

"How much of the meatball is meat?" Woody asked, lifting his eyes to Raphael.

Raphael appeared surprised by the question, but he shrugged and said, "I dunno, most of it."

"And the rest is balls?"

Mikey's wide eyes and surprised face told Leo that the question was entirely innocent, which made his efforts to hide his laughter that much more difficult.

"What? No!" Raph stammered as he slapped the suddenly choking Leonardo on the shell a few times.

Donnie carefully set his own knife and fork down. "May I be excused?"

"No," Raph said. "No, its meat and sauce with some veggies and spices. Finish yer dinner." He lifted Leo's water glass to him as the other turtle continued to fight off his laughter with choking sounds and murmured to him, "Yer not helping."

"Are you okay, Leo?" Mikey asked,

And Leo could only nod at the little brother who was clearly oblivious to the slight chaos he'd just caused. When the conversation finally moved to other topics, Raphael shot Leo another mini scowl, but he couldn't keep up the stern expression with the way Leo was grinning back at him.

When they had all finished eating, Donnie offered to help Leo with the dishes, and Raphael offered to keep Mikey and Woody busy. And as Leo listened from kitchen, he noted that keeping them busy sounded an awful lot like a wrestling match.

"You know you wouldn't have laughed like that before," Donnie said as he unloaded the dishwasher so Leo could do his part to load it.

"Before?" Leo asked as he dumped the rest of the leftovers into a container to be put in the fridge.

"Before you met Raphael. I mean, you laughed plenty when we were growing up, but after dad died," Donnie's voice trailed off as he stacked the clean plates and moved them to the shelf where they belonged. "You just wouldn't have laughed at something as silly as that whole meatball thing. Not during these past couple years, anyway." He met Leo's eyes and offered a grin. "I like it. Its like my big brother is back."

"Well, I'm happy to be back, Donnie."

"I wasn't sure we should make this move," Donnie said. "I mean, it was so sudden."

"What? Why didn't you say anything?"

Donnie shrugged and avoided meeting Leo's eyes. But after a few moments where he could practically _feel_ Leo patiently waiting, he finally spoke up again. "I know Saki tried to kill you, Leo."

Donnie finally made eye contact again and Leo practically froze as his eyes searched Donnie's face. Because of the attack, his brothers had had to stay with their neighbor a few more days than originally planned, and when Leo did return home, they could clearly see that he was hurt. But he hadn't given them any details about what had happened, mainly because he didn't want them to know the truth.

"How did you find out?" Leo finally asked.

Donnie huffed out a breath. "I have full access to the internet," he said dryly. "I read about it on the local news site. Why didn't you tell us?"

Leo leaned his shell up against the counter. "I didn't want you two to be scared. Does Mikey know?"

"No. I wouldn't tell him something like this."

Leo nodded, immediately relieved. Then he refocused on Donnie. "Are you okay?"

"Me? Yes, Leo, _I'm_ perfectly fine." He tried not to roll his eyes, which resulted in a slight eye movement that he was sure Leo spotted anyway. "I was more worried about _you_."

"My wrist and shoulder healed just fine, Donnie."

"Yes, physically you healed." Donnie watched as Leo began to load the dishwasher and waited for a further response he apparently wasn't going to get. He wondered if Leo talked to anyone about the attack, _or_ , and he knew this second option was the more likely of the two, if the memory of it had been shoved deep down in his big brother's shell. When it was clear Leo wasn't going to say anything more, he spoke up again. "When you said we were moving, I wasn't altogether happy with the idea, but I did think it might be better for us not to live in a place where you'd been attacked."

"And now?" Leo asked. He kept his shell to Donnie as he worked, but he did want to know Donnie's honest opinion about their move to Blake Island.

"Yes, I like it here, Leo," Donnie said. "This was a good change."

Leo used his foot to tip up the door to the dishwasher so he could close it and when he turned, he found Raphael leaning against the doorframe of the kitchen, his arms crossed, and his face thoughtful. He could feel himself tense again, waiting to see how much of their conversation Raph had heard.

But instead of asking any questions related to anything he may have overheard, Raphael merely asked, "You two ready to go for a walk with us?"

"Sure." Because at that point, Leo would have agreed to anything that would mean he could end this Saki-related conversation.

"I'd like to stay behind, if you don't mind," Donnie said. "I went to the campus bookstore and I'd like to look over some of the books I picked up."

"We won't be gone long," Raphael said as he opened the pantry. "Hey!" he yelled out so the little boys in the main room could hear him. "Who ate all the cookies?"

"Ninjas!" Mikey called out, which was followed by giggles from both boys.

"I didn't see any ninjas in here," Raphael said as Mikey and Woody's smiling faces appeared around the corner of the kitchen doorframe.

"No one ever does, dude."

"Looks like we need to stop by the market on the walk home and restock."

"You really think they need more cookies?" Leo asked as he pulled Raph's hand into his own as they led the boys out the front door.

"You have something else in mind for dessert, Fearless?"

"Using that tone of voice is really not fair at the _beginning_ of a walk," Leo said in a low voice.

"What's wrong with my voice?" Raph asked with an easy grin as Leo's blue eyes sparked at him. His voice. His scent. His hands. His mouth. In the time that he and Leo had been together, he'd quickly taken into account what tools he possessed to rev up the other turtle. And he had to admit, it felt pretty damn good to be so desirable to his partner.

Although, for now, he was just using it to distract Leo while he led them down a dead end street they didn't normally wander for their walks. When they reached the end of the road, he nodded up towards the one house situated in the area.

"What do you think of this house?"

Leo stopped when Raphael did and turned his attention to the large house. The yard behind it backed up to the water and Leo immediately thought of how nice the view must be from the back windows.

"Looks nice. Who lives here?"

"Well, I was thinkin we could."

Leo's eyes flew back to Raph's face, sure that he hadn't heard him correctly.

Now that he had those blue eyes fixed on him, Raphael kept going. "One of our chefs lives there now. But he's not native to the island and he wants to go back to Seattle. So the house is about to go on the market."

Leo glanced at the house before meeting Raph's eyes again. "Raph, you love your house."

Raphael squeezed Leo's fingers. "Yeah, but you keep callin it that. My house. My bed."

"I didn't realize I did that," Leo said quietly.

"I want something you'll think of as ours." Raphael glanced to the side yard where Mikey and Woody were pretending to sword fight with sticks. "Besides, the house I had built wasn't really meant for four people. And this one not only has three bedrooms, but it also has an attic we could easily insulate. So I was thinking Donnie could have his room up there, which would also give him plenty of space for his inventions, especially since he's already outgrowing my back shed."

"How do you know he's outgrowing the shed?" Leo couldn't help the smile on his face.

"Cause I like going out there to see what he's workin on." Raph shrugged and then squeezed Leo's hand again. "Stop grinning at me like that."

Leo could do no such thing as he pictured Raphael patiently sitting through an animated Donnie invention discussion.

"Oh and look," Raph tugged on Leo's hand until they were at a better angle to see the backyard. "They've got a swing set in the back already for our little nutball, and -,"

Raph's words were cut off by Leo's lips taking over his mouth for a kiss. He realized he'd been thinking about his own arsenal earlier, but it was also easy to come up with a list of things Leo did that heated his insides, kissing definitely being one of them.

And while Leo appreciated the research Raphael had clearly done on this house, this kiss was for a completely different reason. When he pulled back a few moments later, he finally managed to ask, "You really do think of Mikey and Donnie as _ours_ , don't you?"

"As much as I want you to think of this house as _ours_ ," Raphael whispered back. He glanced again at the boys to make sure they were still occupied with their sword fight before dipping his head so his lips could reach Leo's neck. "As much as I want you to think of the new bed we're going to pick out as _ours_."


	6. Trial and Error

Raphael dug through one of the boxes marked kitchen and quickly discovered that it was yet again another box of Mikey's toys. He groaned at the prospect of never finding their plates as he also half-listened to Leo on the phone. Leo was pacing in the large front room attached to the kitchen, where they'd managed so far to only place a couch. He watched Leo pace and listened to the frustration in his voice and resisted the urge to snatch the phone from Leo in order to threaten whoever was irritating the other turtle.

"No, no way." There was a long pause and Leo scrubbed his free hand down his face as he listened. "I understand that, but he's still not testifying." Leo turned to pace back the way he'd come until he reached their fireplace again. He landed a hand on the mantle and held on, forcing himself to stand still. "Okay. Yes, I'll see you then." He couldn't hit end on his phone fast enough and almost shakily dropped his phone on the fireplace mantle.

"DA calling about the trial again?"

Leo nodded, although he kept his expression hidden by appearing to examine the stone in their fireplace.

"When do we leave?" He hoped the answer was _soon_. The DA was beginning to call daily to discuss the trial and Leo was becoming more and more agitated, leaving Raph feeling more and more agitated as well. Saki Oroku had had about a million charges pressed against him, and he'd actually settled the ones that would've required April to testify. But he refused to settle any of the charges that would actually put him behind bars for a long time. And, unfortunately, those charges all required Leo to testify.

Raph watched Leo continue to avoid looking at him by staring hard at the stonework in their fireplace. But then Leo did turn towards him and Raph was met with a fierce expression from those blue eyes.

"You're not coming with me."

"Yes I am."

"No. You're not."

The cold tone of Leo's voice did nothing to defer Raph's insides from heating with immediate frustration.

"You think yer going alone?"

"I know I'm going alone."

Raph nearly growled as he finally dropped the box he'd been digging through, another one marked kitchen that didn't have a damn kitchen utensil anywhere inside it.

"You're not coming, Raphael."

Raphael glared back at the icy look Leo was shooting him.

"Leo, if I can't find my bookbag, can I skip school today?"

Leo turned to the front door in order to hide his expression from his little brother as Mikey came bounding down the stairs. "Your bookbag is right here by the door. Put your jacket on, it's time to go."

Raphael watched Leo collect his things without looking back at him, even as he ushered Mikey out the door for the walk to school. He stood gripping the kitchen counter until he was sure they were out of earshot, mainly for Mikey's sake, before he shoved a box off the counter and watched all the contents scatter across the floor.

* * *

Raph stared at the dessert leftovers from the restaurant's kitchen and wondered which one Leo might prefer. He could text and ask, in what would be the first text of the day between the two of them. He thought about how, on days like today when Leo left early for school and Raph worked late at the restaurant, they usually exchanged multiple texts throughout the day. Plus, Leo and the boys would show up for dinner so they could all eat together. But not only had there been zero texts from Leo, he'd also eaten dinner alone on his break.

He continued to stare at the desserts, but then he wondered why he even cared. He wasn't going to bring Leo dessert tonight. He reminded himself that he was pissed at Leo. He didn't want to think about what on earth Leo had _tried_ to make for dinner back at the house tonight. And he certainly didn't care what kind of dessert Leo would prefer.

"You want to talk about it?"

"No."

His answer was automatic. And expected. April tried again.

"Raphie, if -,"

"He says I'm not going with him to the trial."

April leaned back against one of the kitchen's counters and thought for a moment. "He really relies on you with Donnie and Mikey," she finally offered as she tried to give Leo the benefit of the doubt. Because mad or not, she knew Raph loved Leo. And she was pretty fond of the way Leo looked at her brother. "Maybe he'd just be more comfortable going off island if he knew you were here with his brothers?"

"I don't think that's it."

"You don't _think_? What did he say when you asked him?" Raphael averted his eyes and April groaned in frustration. "Are you two seriously not talking right now?" She watched her brother shrug. "So he said he didn't want you to go to the trial and you didn't ask him _why_?" April glanced down at the desserts Raphael was glaring at. "Take the chocolate one." She pointed as she stood straight again. "And Case and I would be happy to stay at your house with Donnie and Mikey if needed," she tossed over her shoulder on her way out.

* * *

Raphael noticed, as he walked down the street to their new house, that other than the light on their front porch, that there were no other lights visible on the front of the house. Even the attic windows were dark. It left him frustrated that he'd not only missed out on talking to Leo today, but that he hadn't spent any time with Donnie or Mikey, who were likely both in bed by now.

Then he realized, rather proudly, that he was happy his first thought about the dark house was that the other turtles were in bed, and had nothing to do with any thoughts that they could be _gone_.

He walked up the front steps and entered the house quietly. From their new front entrance, he could see clear through to the back of the house, which was covered in windows due to the awesome water view this house came with. He didn't see Leo anywhere downstairs, but he still wandered into the kitchen, because all the boxes that had been covering the counters earlier were gone. He slowly opened and closed cabinets and drawers and realized that Leo must have actually found the _kitchen_ boxes and spent his evening unpacking and organizing.

Once he was upstairs, he passed their spare bedroom, which was currently storing a ton of unopened boxes. Then he leaned his shoulder against the door frame of the next bedroom so that he could peek in on the smallest turtle. Mikey was sound asleep on his shell, one arm wrapped tight around a worn looking teddy bear. They'd managed to put Mikey's bed together, but the only other thing in his room were all the boxes marked kitchen that he'd been digging through earlier. Although, when he looked closer, he grinned as he realized the boxes were arranged to give Mikey a small fort in the corner of his room. He hoped it was enough to keep the youngest happy in his room tonight. Mikey had never had his own room before this and so far Donnie had sleepily walked him back downstairs from his attic bedroom every single night since they'd moved in.

Mikey flipping onto his plastron interrupted Raph's thoughts and he turned away to continue down the hallway. He passed the doorway that led up to the attic, where Donnie was _hopefully_ sleeping. Then he swung open the door to his and Leo's new bedroom where he found Leo sitting up in bed with his laptop perched in his lap. He watched as those blue eyes lifted warily to meet his own as Leo's fingers stilled over the keyboard.

"Kitchen looks good," Raph said slowly. "I was able to find the silverware." He walked around the bed to Leo's side, which was closer to the windows that overlooked the water rather than the door, and handed him the small takeout box he'd brought home, along with a fork.

Leo slowly took the offered items and opened the box to find a piece of chocolate cake inside. He glanced back up at Raphael and found him pushing off his jacket and tossing it onto a chair they had near the door. Whatever reaction he was expecting from Raph tonight, this wasn't it. He set the cake down on his nightstand so that he could shut off his laptop and stood to move it to his dresser. Then he turned back to Raphael, who stood on the other side of the room, and eyed him thoughtfully.

"You're not worried because I'm physically leaving, right?" Leo finally asked. "I mean, you'd know exactly where I would be. I'd be in contact. _And_ , I'd come home when it's over."

"No, that's not why I think I should go." Although, he had to admit, it was a reasonable thought for Leo to have.

"Then why do you _want_ to go?"

"I need ya to remember that yer not on yer own anymore. You don't have to do all this hard shit by yerself. I don't think ya should go alone, Leo."

Leo felt his shoulders relax. Finally, _finally_ , he wasn't facing a repercussion from his previous actions against this turtle he loved. But the rest of what Raph said didn't make sense to him.

"Raph, this isn't a big deal. I go, I testify, I come home. That's it."

"You don't talk about what happened. At all."

"Because it's not a big deal!"

"Leonardo." Raphael's voice was much deeper than it had been a moment before and Raph watched as Leo bit back another protest. "He tried to kill you."

Leo paused for only a beat before saying, "I'm hardly doing this by myself if I'm leaving Donnie and Mikey here with you."

Raphael's head tilted as he eyed Leo and thought about Leo's complete avoidance to any discussion regarding the attack. With the exception of the day Raph had found Leo in that bookstore, when Leo had been forced to tell him what had happened in order to explain to Raphael why he had deserted him in the middle of the night, Leo had shot down any further attempts of his to talk about what had happened.

"What?" Leo finally asked as he watched Raphael stare thoughtfully at him.

"I'm just wondering how I ended up with a turtle as stubborn as I am."

Half of Leo's mouth quirked up against his will and, with the tension broken for the moment, Raphael crossed the room and pulled Leo into his plastron for a hug, which Leo quickly returned.

"I don't like fightin with ya," Raph murmured. He nuzzled his face against Leo's. "But I don't think ya should do this by yerself."

Leo let his eyes roam over Raph's sincere face. "And I love you for that," he finally said, especially since the last time he'd faced a challenging life event, his partner had promptly ditched him. "But I don't want to make this a big deal. I just want to go, get it over with, and then come back home to you and our life." _And forget it ever happened_.

Raphael sighed at his determined turtle. "Okay," he finally said.

His compliance was rewarded with a kiss, followed by Leo pulling him into bed, and later with some bites of chocolate cake. But as Leo drifted to sleep beside him, he couldn't help but to stare down at him and wonder what else was going on inside Leo's head. He just didn't know how to get Leo to open up and tell him what he was missing.

* * *

Leo felt odd the second he stepped on the ferry alone and turned to wave at Raph, Donnie, and Mikey on the shore. He stood at the railing and watched them as the ferry pulled away and they became smaller and smaller as they were left behind.

When the ferry docked in Seattle, he found the cab Raph had called for him and was quickly driven to the airport. The odd feeling returned as he sat on the plane. He glanced at the woman sitting next to him and immediately wished that it was Raphael in that seat. Then he pushed the thought away, because he didn't want Raph attending this trial. It was better that Raph was still on the island.

At least, he'd repeat that to himself until this was over.

Thankfully the flight was short and less than two hours later he was signing paperwork for his rental car. His foot pressed harder than necessary on the gas and he shot out of the spot, followed quickly by pressing too hard on the brake. He made a mental note to tell Raphael this story as he considered that it had been practically a year since he'd driven a car. He took a deep breath and then slowly made his way out of the parking lot. But instead of heading straight to the hotel, he made his way to the bookstore and his childhood home, where he parked across the street.

Although, he didn't get out of the car. Instead, he sat and frowned at the building. He wasn't sure what he was expecting, but it was odd to him that everything looked the same. The bookstore's window display had changed, but that wasn't an unusual occurrence in retail. He thought about going to say hello to their old neighbor, but instead pulled out of his parking spot and headed straight to the hotel.

Per the DA's request, he sent her a quick text message to let her know he'd arrived. Then he called Raphael. But when Raph didn't answer, he was stuck sending him a text about his arrival as well before he sat sullenly on the edge of the bed in the hotel room.

This room would probably be warmer with Raphael in it, he decided. Although, Raph would probably already have him out the door forcing Leo to show him around his hometown, or at least out to find somewhere nice for dinner. Instead, Leo ordered room service and huddled in the bed to eat it as he tried to distract himself with the television.

It didn't work. He didn't like being alone. Not when he'd become so accustomed to sharing his space with another. He turned off the television and forced his eyes shut for sleep while he continued to secretly wish he had Raph with him.

* * *

He woke up in a cold sweat and did his best not to repeat the awful choking sound he'd just made in his dream. Saki's hands had been wrapped tightly around his throat and with his one shoulder out of commission and his opposite hand refusing to cooperate due to a broken wrist, he'd been sure he was about to die. He'd managed to wrap one leg around Saki and twist, knocking him to the side and forcing him to release his throat as the police had begun to break down his door.

His hands flew up to his throat. He could practically still feel the man's cold fingers there. And the pounding on the door had been so real, he was sure that was what had woken him from the nightmare.

But then he startled when there was an actual fist pounding on his hotel room door.

" _Leo_!"

Leo scrambled out of his bed and quickly swung the door open at the sound of Raphael's voice.

"Raph?"

Raph hesitated for a moment as he took in Leo's wide, frantic eyes and listened to his panting breaths. It was still fairly early, so when he'd arrived outside Leo's hotel room, he hadn't expected him to already be in bed. And when knocking didn't work, and Leo wasn't answering his damn phone, he had begun to pound on the door, especially when noises that were suspicious for a struggle began to escape through the door.

Before he could ask what was going on, Leo flung himself forward and wrapped himself around Raphael. Raphael's arms responded quickly and he pushed them forward until they were inside the room with the door swung shut behind them.

"Nightmare?"

As Leo nodded into his neck, he continued to move them forward until he could drop his bag and pull the two of them down into the bed.

"About the attack?" He felt a little stupid for having to ask, but not only did Leo never talk about it, he'd never seen Leo have a nightmare in regards to it either.

It seemed as though Leo still wasn't in the mood to talk about it now, however, and Raphael grunted as Leo's mouth latched onto his neck. Leo twisted them so that he could straddle Raphael's lap and he sat up only so he could easily pull Raphael into a sitting position as well. Raphael let his jacket be pushed from his shoulders as his own hands roamed over Leo even as Leo tugged his shirt up and over his head. Then Leo kissed him hard and fast before pushing Raph back on his shell and lifting himself off the other turtle so he could unbutton and then drag Raph's pants down off his hips and past his feet to be thrown to the floor.

Raphael watched Leo as he crawled back up his body, although instead of returning to kiss him, Leo stopped halfway and Raphael sucked in a breath when Leo's mouth landed on his slit.

"Leo," he breathed out as his hand instinctually landed to squeeze one of Leo's shoulders.

Leo didn't seem to mind the extra pressure as his tongue continued to swipe and dip over the widening slit until Raphael released himself. Raphael grunted again when Leo wasted no time pulling him into his mouth. Leo alternated between sucking on the tip and bobbing his head in his efforts to not only please Raphael, but to get Raphael adequately wet. Raphael realized why a few moments later when Leo released him and began to climb further up his body.

"You got me ready, yer not gonna let me get you ready?" Raphael asked with a hoarse voice as he forced his own hazy mind to function even though Leo was already on top of him, positioning himself so that he could sit back and be impaled by Raph's hard length.

Leo wanted to reply with something about _always being ready for Raphael_ , but he was too far gone for words. Too needy to even be bothered by the slight sting he felt as he used his hands on Raph's shoulders to lift and lower himself at a slow pace.

"Leo, fuuuck," he churred as he watched Leo ride him. He wrapped one of his own hands around Leo's exposed length and squeezed before slowly sliding his hand up to the tip where he let his thumb play. The touching pulled a deep churr from Leo as his own hips began to rise and fall even faster.

Leo lowered himself so that he could kiss Raphael as he continued to move. He reveled in their tongues twisting together as the cold fear from his dream subsided, melted away as Raph's scent and Raph's churrs and Raph's warm body all heated his insides.

"Oh fuck," Raphael swore again as he arched his body up towards Leo with a hard finish.

Leo smiled as he listened to Raphael roar out his release. The thought that he could continuously please this strong, protective turtle was enough for him and he followed Raphael by letting his hips take over as he moved his face to Raphael's neck and bit into the skin there, earning an extra groan from Raphael.

When Leo collapsed on top of him, Raphael rolled them, keeping himself tucked into Leo's ass as he did so, until Leo was safely beneath him.

"Leo -,"

"I haven't even wanted to think about the attack in my new life with you." Leo shivered as he was rewarded for speaking by Raphael's lips moving across his neck. "I haven't had any nightmares with you beside me. I guess with the move and the changes, it was pretty easy to keep it separate in my head. But, being here, especially being here without you, it was just too much." He met Raph's mouth for another kiss before asking, "So, I'm not complaining, but what are you doing here?"

"I'm just as stubborn as you are." Half of Raph's mouth quirked up for a moment as he met Leo's blue eyes. "And so I let you get on the ferry and take yer damn airplane ride down here. But I took the next ferry and rented a car."

Leo narrowed his eyes at Raphael, but it was a half-hearted glare. He couldn't be mad at him if he tried right now, especially not when Raph shifted his hips forward and Leo was quickly reminded that Raphael was still buried deep inside of him. A soft churr rolled up his throat as Leo felt immediate interest sparking inside of him once again.

Raphael watched Leo's eyes begin to turn hazy and he quickly spoke up again before they both got too distracted. "Tell me the real reason you don't want me to go to the trial with ya," he asked gently.

Leo refocused on Raphael and let his eyes roam slowly over the other turtle's handsome face. "Because I love you," he finally said. "And - ," he added quickly as he watched Raph gear up to argue that that wasn't the real reason. " – because I don't want Saki Oroku anywhere near you. It's the same reason I refused to let Donnie testify."

Raphael pushed a hand into the mattress and began to rock up into Leo. Being hard and ready again for Leo was never going to be a challenge for him.

"Yer tryin to protect everyone else at the expense of yerself again." At least this was a response that made sense to Raphael.

Leo churred again as Raphael's hips began to move faster, but he still managed to say, "I just thought you would be safer if he didn't know you existed."

"He's not getting anywhere near you," Raph murmured as he pressed his face into Leo's neck and inhaled his favorite musky scent. "Or me."

"Raph." Leo moaned out Raphael's name and as the other turtle's thrusts quickened one more time and Leo could only hold on tightly as he trembled and then quickly climaxed for the second time that night.

Raphael pulled his face back when he felt that tell-tale tremble from his lover, because just the look on Leo's blissed out face was just about enough to get him off. His mouth crashed on Leo's and his own second released was reached with only a few more thrusts. Then he finally pulled himself from Leo and rolled them once more so that Leo was in his original spot on top of him. And as sated and weak-limbed and exhausted as he felt, he still opened his mouth to press on with their conversation.

"Look," he said with a sigh, "if it would make ya more comfortable, I could stay out of sight. Just wait for ya outside till its over."

Leo shook his head. He knew it was selfish, but now he couldn't picture walking into that courtroom without Raphael nearby. He nuzzled his face into Raph's neck before whispering, "I need you."

Raph's arms tightened around him. "Then I'll be there."

* * *

Raph's eyes bored into the side of this Oroku guy's head as he listened to Leo calmly explain the physical attack he endured when Saki tried to kill him. At least, Leo probably appeared calm to most of the room. But Raphael could see the pointed way Leo avoided looking at his attacker. And he heard the small hitches in Leo's breathing between certain words.

Raphael wasn't sitting directly behind the DA's table. Instead, per Leo's request, he was sitting in the back of the room, making it at least difficult for Saki Oroku to notice him in the crowded courtroom. He wasn't sure it was necessary, but he wasn't about to argue with Leo about where he should sit today. Especially since listening to Leo discuss the attack was harder than he thought it was going to be. He would've still listened if Leo had wanted to discuss it privately at home, but there was something kind of awful about having it forced out of Leo in this public setting with his attacker sitting twenty feet away.

"And you were in the hospital for how long after the assault?"

Leo's eyes flickered to and away from Raphael so fast that Raph almost missed it.

"They kept me for two days."

Raphael barely heard the DA ask Leo to list out all of his sustained injuries as his mind flew back to that time period. Leo had never mentioned to him that he'd been admitted to the hospital for two days. Two days that Leo had been sitting by himself while Raph had been sulking on the island and angrily cursing the other turtle for disappearing on him. He could only hope that if Leo had thought about him during that time, that those thoughts had provided comfort.

When the district attorney was finished, Oroku's lawyer immediately stood and Raphael tensed as he watched the other attorney stalk towards Leo with a predatory look on his face.

"Saki Oroku is not a stranger to you, is he Mr. Hamato?"

"No, he's not."

"And how would you categorize your relationship with him?"

"We do not have a relationship," Leo replied. "He was friends with my father when I was younger."

"So it's your statement that you and Mr. Oroku have had not had a romantic relationship that soured?"

Raphael's hands balled into tight fists as he realized where the other attorney was about to go with his questioning while Leo's mouth dropped open in shock. "No!" he said with as much force as possible.

"Did you not invite Mr. Oroku over to your apartment that night? And when he refused to rekindle your relationship, you attacked him?"

Leo could feel the juror's eyes on him and he forced his expression back to calm. "No, none of that is true. He _broke_ into my apartment. He - ,"

"Mr. Hamato, it is true that you prefer men, correct?"

" _Objection_. Your honor, unless Mr. Oroku is prepared to provide proof or witnesses to this relationship, none of these claims should be allowed in the courtroom. And Mr. Hamato's preferences - ,"

"Both councils please approach the bench," the judge interjected.

Leo kept his eyes averted, but listened as the judge and the two lawyers whispered back and forth for several minutes before they finally broke up their meeting and the DA went back to her own table with a triumphant look on her face.

"I have no further questions." Oroku's lawyer practically sulked as he went back to sit beside his client.

"I'd like to redirect, please."

The judge nodded to the DA and Leo tensed again as he watched her pull an electronic device from her bag. She'd mentioned that this was a possibility, but he'd been pretty adamant that he didn't want to have to listen to the attack during the trial. Apparently, she thought they'd reached the point of this being necessary.

"Mr. Hamato, you were able to call 911 during the attack, correct?"

Raphael cursed internally as he watched Leo swallow hard before his eyes flew to meet Raph's eyes. If being forced to talk about the attack was bad, surely listening to it would be a thousand times worse. But he straightened his shell in his seat and nodded a fierce look back to Leo, because Leo needed a quick reassurance that this was going to be okay. He watched Leo take a deep breath and then return his attention to the DA.

"Yes, that's correct."

"With the court's permission, I'd like to play that 911 call as evidence of Mr. Oroku's forced entry, adult and battery, and attempted murder charges."

* * *

When Leo exited the courtroom at the end of his testimony, Raphael stood waiting right outside the doors so that he could pull his partner into his arms and crush him into plastron. He could feel a tremor running through Leo and he hugged him tighter.

"That was hard to listen to," he murmured, voicing Leo's thoughts for the both of them. _Holy shit he'd actually heard the bone in Leo's wrist snap_. "But you came out of it _alive_. And because of what ya just did in there, that bastard is gonna go away for a long time."

Leo let his face rest in the crook of Raphael's neck as he listened to Raphael's soothing rumble. He separated from him a moment later as the DA joined them in the hallway.

"I'm sorry, Leonardo. I know we were hoping that we wouldn't have to pull out the audio," she said in a rush. "Clearly, the other attorney was here to play dirty, but there's no way they can make any of those claims now that everyone has heard the proof of what happened."

"Is he finished?" Raphael asked.

"Yes," she answered with a fast nod. "Mr. Oroku's attorney can present his defense now, but this trial will likely be over in a few days. You don't _have_ to be here for the verdict, but -,"

"We won't be," Leo said quietly.

She hesitated for a moment, since she preferred having the wronged citizen in court to see the resolution of these big cases. But she decided not to press him, especially with the other turtle lightly glaring at her while he rubbed soothing circles into Leo's shoulder.

"Okay, I'll text you the end result when I hear it?"

Leo nodded. "We'll be at home."

* * *

Leo was standing in the kitchen when his phone buzzed. He'd been staring out their large back windows at the water, thinking about how they'd soon be able to swim right in their own backyard since the weather was getting warmer. He set his mug of tea down so that he could check his phone.

_Guilty on all counts. I'll text again at his sentencing._

"Good news?" Raph was slightly wary since he couldn't quite read the look on Leo's face. But then Leo turned to him where he sat at the table eating breakfast with Mikey and Donnie, and he watched a smile spread across Leo's face.

"Yes. Convicted on all counts." By Donnie's smile in return, Leo was sure Donnie knew what he was referring to, while he also hoped that Mikey didn't.

Raphael grinned in response as well. "We're celebrating tonight."

"Celebrating what?" Mikey finally looked up from his toast at the mention of potential fun.

"Just being together." Leo smiled down at Mikey before nodding happily at Raphael.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Special thanks to my friend Stitcherbell, who quickly and easily provided a loooong list of charges against Saki for us (most of which I obviously didn't get a a chance to even cite).


	7. Living Under Mistletoe

"This one?"

"No."

"This one?"

"Too scrawny."

Donnie did his best not to shiver in the snow as he raised his arm to point to another.

"Only if you can add more branches."

"I, uh, no, Mikey, I can't add more branches to a tree." Donnie trod on ahead of the others before stopping yet again to point out another tree.

"That one smells funny."

Despite his better judgment, Donnie took a deep breath in through his nose. "It smells just like every other tree, Mikey."

"Nooo, it doesn't have the Christmas smell."

"That's not a thing."

"Yes it is. Right, Leo?" Mikey spun back around to where Leo and Raph were trailing behind them. "You said last year the tree smelled like Christmas!"

Leo smiled and nodded at Mikey, but also offered Donnie a half-hearted shrug when Mikey's shell was turned to him once again.

"Is this what it's like every year?" Raphael murmured.

"Ever since Mikey could talk," Leo answered. "Although, we usually pick one from a tree lot, and this -," he swung his free arm in the general direction of the forest they were wandering through, "- might just be too many choices."

Raphael chuckled as he glanced behind them and considered the fact that he couldn't even see their house anymore.

"Can you make the top of that one more pointy so the star will stay on it?"

Donnie examined the tree Mikey had picked out. "I _can_ make sure the star stays on top of that one."

"Then it's perfect!"

Raphael let go of Leo's hand so he could kneel beside the tree and begin sawing.

* * *

"I have a knitting request for you."

Raph looked up from his laptop and grinned at Leo as he entered the kitchen. "I already made gloves and hats for all three of ya. Ya want an ugly Christmas sweater?"

Leo laughed and set the box he'd been carrying down on the kitchen table. "No, although this is a Christmas request." He opened the box and pulled out the three stockings inside. "Our father had each of these made for us."

He passed one of the matching stockings over to Raphael so that Raph could see the pattern. Each red stocking had not only their name knitted into the top, but a decorated tree knit into the front of it.

"You probably have your own stocking, so you don't have to, but - ,"

He watched Leo pause to shrug for a moment and Raphael resisted the urge to stand and wrap his arms around the other turtle. He wondered if Leo knew just how ridiculously adorable he was all the time.

"I just thought it might be nice if you had one that matched. And since I know what an amazing knitter you are - ,"

Raph groaned. "Don't call me a _knitter_."

Leo's grin only widened.

Raph's fingers slid over the stocking he held in his hand as he examined the neat stitching of Leonardo's name.

"Well, at least my name is shorter than yers."

"So you'll make one?"

"Of course I'll make one." How could he say no anyway with the way Leo's blue eyes were lighting up?

"You don't have one already, right? I don't want you throwing away your childhood stocking or anyth-,"

"No, Fearless, I don't still have my childhood stocking. Not like I had a good reason to have a stocking for the past few years anyway."

Leo moved to stand behind Raphael so that he could wrap his arms around Raph's shoulders and nuzzle against the side of Raphael's face. "You definitely have a good reason to have a stocking now, Raphael."

Raph shivered at the new, low tone of voice Leo was using. "That so?"

"Tis the season for stuffing things."

Raphael sputtered before he dropped his head back to land on Leo's shoulder as he released a loud chuckle.

* * *

"I can't believe you gave him tinsel."

"Amateur."

Raph's mouth pressed into a thin line as he listened to Leo and Donnie. "I just -," he cut himself off with a sigh as he watched their living room couch, chairs, mantle, shelves, table, and floor be completely lost to a tiny turtle with handfuls of tinsel.

"I'm not cleaning that up," Donnie announced as he continued to work on the wiring for the Christmas tree lights. "I have, uh, lots of studying to do later."

"Yer on winter break," Raph grumbled as he went back to making sure their tree was secure in the tree stand. "I thought you agreed with me and Leo that ya were going to take an actual break?"

"And we don't _clean up_ Christmas decorations!" Mikey added, sparing Donnie from having to answer Raphael. "We enjoy them! Right? Leo? This looks good, right?"

"I like it so much that my right eye is beginning to twitch," Leo responded.

Raphael bit back a smile as he stood up again and made sure the tree was straight. "Uh, Mikey, did ya save any tinsel for the tree?"

Mikey looked down at his now empty hands and then turned big puppy dog eyes up to Raphael.

"We'll get more," Raph whispered down to him.

"I heard that," Leo murmured as he continued to attach hooks to the ornaments that needed them. "Mikey maybe we could just take the tinsel from the couch and -," he cut himself off as well as Mikey's puppy dog eyes turned in his direction.

Donnie huffed out a breath as he realized both big brothers had succumbed to Michelangelo. Now that Raphael was finished with his part, he began walking around the tree as he strung the lights, and when he was satisfied with their placement, he plugged them in.

Michelangelo had been watching him closely and now his mouth turned down in a pout when plugging the lights in didn't result in a lit tree. "Uh oh, the lights aren't working, D."

"They will in a second, Mikey. I just made a minor modification." Donnie grinned as he pulled a remote from his back pocket. "Just one button push and we'll be all set. Everyone ready?"

Leo's eyes shot over to Raphael and Raph reached forward and pulled Mikey back a few steps.

Donnie huffed out another sigh and rolled his eyes. Then he hit the on button for his lights.

"Ahhh!" Mikey yelped as all four turtles quickly ducked and covered their eyes from the ultra-bright, strobe-like lights as they began flashing repeatedly.

"Donnie, turn them off!" Leo ordered. "The reflection off all the tinsel is making it worse!"

"I can't see!" Mikey yelled. He quickly backed up a few more steps and then fell to the ground on his shell when he bumped into a chair.

"What is going on?" April asked as she and Casey entered through front door and found utter chaos.

"April and Case, shut yer eyes!" Raph said.

"It's like a helicopter looking for an escaped convict!"

"Nice example, Casey."

Donnie ignored the lot of them as he tweaked the remote until finally the flashing stopped and the lights dimmed to a gentle twinkle.

"Got it!" Donnie announced. He glanced around the room at his other family members. "You don't think that was a tad overdramatic?"

"I'll never see again!" Mikey wailed as he sat up and rubbed at his eyes. "Donnie, you'll describe the pictures in my comics for me, right?"

Donnie moved to Mikey's side and offered a hand to help him up. When Mikey didn't take it, because _I can't see your hand, Donnie!_ Donnie hoisted his little brother up by his shoulders.

"So, we're not too late for all the fun, huh?" Casey asked he plopped down on the couch next to Raphael and sent some of the couch tinsel to the ground.

"Those lights are beautiful, Donnie," April added as she headed to the kitchen with the Christmas cookies she'd brought for everyone to snack on while they trimmed the tree.

"Well, I'll admit, I didn't take into account the amount of reflective tinsel there was going to be in the room," Donnie said, shooting Mikey a light glare, which Mikey easily ignored as he scampered after April to dig into the cookies. "Guess your sight has returned, huh, Mikey?"

"The nose knows, D."

"I have heard that other senses kick in when you lose one," April added sweetly as she couldn't resist giving Mikey a big hug before she handed him a cookie. She offered Donnie a smile as she lifted the plastic container and waved it towards him until he relented and joined them in the kitchen.

Leo blinked a few more times as the white spots in his eyes finally receded. He went back to his task of organizing the ornaments, a job he'd volunteered for since he'd hidden something in the ornament box a couple weeks ago. He pulled that small box out now and glanced over to Raphael.

"I have an early Christmas present for you," Leo said when he had Raphael's attention.

Raphael's eye ridges rose in surprise and he stood to join Leo. Leo watched as Raphael opened the box and found the ornament Leo wanted to be the first to go on the tree. He hadn't wanted to do something as cheesy as _Our 1_ _st_ _Christmas_ , but he would admit he did want something to mark this special occasion for all of them. So he'd ninja'd the supplies to his classroom and stayed late a few times after school so that he'd be able to actually surprise Raphael with something. And he'd been fairly happy with the end result. Now he watched to see Raphael's reaction.

Raphael gingerly pulled the ornament from the box and then slowly turned it in his hand so that he could see each of the four turtle shells that lined the bulb. Not only was each shell represented in painstaking detail, but the outer rim of each of their shells had been outlined with their favorite colors: red, blue, purple, and orange. And as Raph examined it closer, his mouth dropped open when he realized the entire bulb had been hand painted. He lifted his eyes to Leo to ask where he'd had it made, but stopped short when the slightly anxious look on Leo's face told him that the artist was standing in front of him.

"Ya never mentioned being able to paint like this, Fearless." He sidled in closer to Leonardo, and Leo's dorky, pleased grin, so that he could lean in and kiss him. "Love you," he whispered.

Leo's mouth followed Raph for another kiss before he whispered back, "Love you, too."

Raphael looked down then when he sensed eyes on them and found Mikey grinning up at them.

"Did you know about this already?"

Mikey grinned and nodded. He'd spent a couple afternoons peering over Leo's shoulder after school as he watched his big brother work on the project.

"Donnie, have you seen this?" Raph asked, turning towards the other brother.

"Not finished," Donnie replied, coming closer so he could look it over.

Raphael showed it off to April and Casey as well before he finally found a front and center spot for it on the tree.

* * *

"That's a - that's a kitten."

"Yeah."

"As in -," Leo paused as he continued to stare down at the small orange creature that looked like it could live happily forever in Raphael's palm, "a kitten."

"Yeah."

Leo's shocked eyes lifted to meet Raph's eyes again. Raphael had taken a small list of Christmas shopping ideas with him when he'd ferried over to Seattle today to meet with some of his customers. And when Leo heard their front door opening, he'd rushed to meet him, expecting to take a few presents to hide until they could be wrapped.

"Mikey asked for one of those egg things that hatches an electronic creature."

"Right."

Leo stared at his partner and waited.

"They were out of the egg things."

"How did you jump from fake creature toy to live animal?"

"It needed a home."

Leo continued to stare back at Raphael as Raphael's chin dipped and his eyes got slightly wider and more pathetic.

Leo closed his own eyes and sighed dramatically. "I forgot I'm dating the baby of the family," he mumbled, mostly to himself, at the sight of _Raphael's_ puppy dog eyes.

"Mikey's gonna love him," Raphael said, dropping the eyes as he grinned at Leo. "Plus, ya know it's not safe to have all that tinsel all over the living room with a kitten running around."

Leo glanced down at the kitten with new eyes. "So, really this is a gift for Mikey _and_ me?"

"That's right, Fearless. I'm a giver."

Leo huffed out a laugh as Raph handed the tiny kitten over to him. "I'm gonna go get the boys," he announced as he took off in a jog up their stairs.

Leo eyed the kitten again, and when the fluffy thing mewed up at him, he found himself instinctually cradling it closer to his sweater-covered plastron. "Well, it is pretty cold outside right now." He scratched behind one of the kitten's ears. "And you don't exactly look like you can fend for yourself out there." When additional ear scratching resulted in purring noises, Leo couldn't help but smile. "I guess you can stay."

A large gasp interrupted his thoughts and he glanced up to see Mikey practically fall down their stairs in his efforts to reach Leo and the kitten. Leo gingerly handed the kitten to Michelangelo and was instantly impressed with Mikey's gentle handling as he nuzzled his face against the kitten's face.

"We're keeping him right?" he glanced up at Leo and then Raph who had followed him down the stairs. "He can sleep in my room?"

Leo glanced up at Raph and then up at Donnie who was trailing behind him. Perhaps the kitten would be added incentive to keep Mikey in his own room at night.

Donnie's thoughts mirrored Leo's and he immediately chimed in, "Sounds like a great idea." After all, it was hard to get that good night's rest Leo kept bugging him about when his sleep was interrupted by a small turtle climbing in his bed every night.

"You don't mind, D?" Mikey asked, quickly. "If he sleeps in my room at night, we can share him during the day."

"Its okay, Mikey," Donnie said, smiling as he watched the kitten climb up on Mikey's shoulder in an attempt to cuddle up against his neck. "I have a feeling he's going to like you best."

Mikey beamed at the thought and Leo decided to wait on mentioning the need to remove the tinsel.

For a few minutes anyway.

* * *

"Mikey and the kitten are asleep," Raphael said as he entered their bedroom and found Leo staring out their large windows over the backyard. Raph sat on the edge of their bed behind him and glanced out the windows as well. It was too dark to see the water, which Leo could often be found staring out at. However, tonight they were being treated to the sight of snow falling. "You really think he's gonna keep calling the kitten _Ice Cream_?"

Leo chuckled, although he kept his eyes on the snow. "Yes I do."

"Paid Donnie a little visit up in his room, too. He's working again," he said pointedly.

Leo sighed. "I will talk to him again about getting more sleep, but you know he doesn't see what he's doing up there as _work_."

"It's not even about getting more sleep. He should be out with other teenagers, knocking over mailboxes or stumbling through awkward kisses."

One of Leo's eye ridges quirked up as he turned to eye Raphael. "What else did you do as a teenager?"

"This isn't about me."

"I hope you went back and fixed the mailboxes."

"Do you know what will happen if Donnie never gets to be a teenager?"

"And who did teenager Raphael kiss?" Leo's eyes narrowed. "Are they still on the island?"

"Ya know, I read about this guy who graduated from MIT at 15, and do you know where he is now?"

"Hmmm," Leo hummed, "they _are_ still on the island, aren't they?"

"MIT teenaged-genius guy is in a mental health hospital."

"Would it make you feel better to tell me who you were kissing and then we'll go knock down their mailbox together?"

"A mental health hospital, Leo. He claims _aliens_ from another dimension have contacted him."

"Or I could send Donnie to take down their mailbox. That's kind of like 2 birds, right?"

They were both grinning widely at each other by now. Raphael stood and stalked over to Leonardo, who only stood waiting with a grin on his face as Raphael pulled him in close and kissed him.

"Yer a real smartass, Fearless. I'm being serious."

Leo tucked himself against Raph's plastron and then listened to Raph's breath hitch as he let his lips move over Raphael's neck. "Are you insinuating that I am not being serious?"

Raphael growled.

Leo chuckled. "I'll talk to Donnie again. And I'll be sure to let him know you'd feel better if he'd go out and violate something -,"

Raphael was already shaking his head and narrowing his eyes in response to Leo's teasing voice.

" – or _someone_."

"So you were a perfect angel as a teenager, huh?"

Leo slipped his hands under Raph's shirt so that he could push it up and over the other turtle's head. "Who can remember? It was so long ago."

"Says the history teacher," Raph said dryly, but he quickly removed Leo's sweater and then went after his jeans.

* * *

"I wanna change my last name to Hamato."

Raph's voice rumbled into Leo's almost-sleeping mind and he forced his eyes open in order to meet Raph's eyes, only to find them still closed. "What?"

"I wanna change my last name to Hamato."

Even though he had repeated himself word for word, Leo still stared at the other turtle in confusion. He shook his head a bit, as if to reassure himself that he was indeed awake.

"What?" he repeated as well as his sleepy brain first thought about Raphael's roots on his home island. "You have businesses, Raphael. And everyone on the island knows you as -,"

"The restaurant and the brewery were named after the _island_ , not my family." Raphael finally opened his eyes and met Leo's slightly confused blue eyes. "And everyone on the island will still know who I am even if I become a Hamato. Besides, since you three are already Hamatos, it just makes more sense that I switch to yer name."

Leo raised himself up on one elbow and continued to stare down at Raphael. He watched a smile grow on the other turtle's face and began to feel something close to adrenaline begin to run down both of his arms.

"What brought this on? Why would you want to change your last name?"

"I just think ya should have the same last name as yer husband." Raphael watched the dorky smile he liked so much begin to pull at Leo's lips and he immediately felt equal parts thrilled and relieved. Although, when a few moments went by and Leo still hadn't responded, he did his best show of an exasperated sigh. "Ya ain't gonna make me get down on one knee, are ya?"

Leo huffed out a quick laugh as he ducked his head to meet Raph's mouth for a kiss. He kissed him slowly, savoring the way their lips seamlessly moved together, and felt a churr roll up his throat at the touch of Raph's fingers curling around the back of his neck.

"I love you," Leo whispered breathlessly to Raphael a moment later.

"Marry me," Raphael whispered back.

"Yeah."


	8. turtle bros party line

**Donnie added Leo, Raph, and Mikey to a text group chat** : _Hamato Family Checkpoint_

 _Donnie_ : Now you don't have to text each of us individually with your important messages, Leo.

 _Raph_ : Important like reminding each of us to eat our veggies at lunch?

 _Leo_ : It's bad to care about your health?

 _Raph_ : No, Fearless. Love ya.

 _Leo_ : Did you eat veggies today?

 _Raph_ : ….

 _Donnie_ : I was thinking more along the lines of keeping track of our schedules

 _Mikey_ : sdklxskdlsdk

 _Leo_ : Raph, did you give Mikey a cell phone?

 _Mikey_ : That was ice cream kitty

 _Mikey_ : He says hi

 _Raph_ : No. Mikey where did you get a cell phone?

 _Donnie_ : I made him one.

 _Raph_ : You can make a cell phone?

 _Donnie_ : And now we can always be in touch. Even if I'm off island.

**Mikey changes the name of the group:** _turtle bros party line_

_Donnie_ : Mikey, how did you figure out how to do that?

 _Leo_ : Mikey, it's your turn to change the litter box

 _Mikey_ : no litter box talk on the party line!

 _Leo_ : Donnie said this was for important messages. It's not a party line.

 _Mikey_ : check out this poop emoji!

 _Mikey_ : get it? cause you want me to clean the litter box?

 _Donnie_ : I'm beginning to regret giving you that phone, Mikey

 _Leo_ : Litter box, Mikey. Then do your homework.

 _Leo_ : Hey, Donnie, this IS fun.

 _Raph_ : Are ya doing your own homework, Leo?

 _Leo_ : No, I told you I'm not doing that anymore

 _Donnie_ : Keep the party line clean you two

 _Mikey_ : Score for the party line!

 _Raph_ : We have a deadline

 _Leo_ : You didn't like my previous suggestion

 _Raph_ : I told ya I'd take ya anywhere in the world for our honeymoon.

 _Raph_ : You suggested Seattle.

 _Mikey_ : Seattle is part of the world

 _Mikey_ : So it should count

 _Donnie_ : Mikey, I suggest you sit this one out little brother

 _Donnie_ : Also, you better not have that phone anywhere near the litter box

 _Leo_ : Mikey's right, though. Seattle should count. You said anywhere.

 _Raph_ : I'm willing to get on a damn plane. Pick somewhere else.

 _Mikey_ : Donnie how do I make this thing play music?

 _Donnie_ : Come up to my room and I'll show you

 _Raph_ : Leo?

 _Leo_ : I told you we don't need to go on a big expensive trip

 _Raph_ : And I told you I wanted to take ya somewhere neither of us have been before

 _Raph_ : Come on history teacher. There's gotta be someplace you'd like to see

 _Leo_ : Mikey turn down the music

 _Leo_ : You're supposed to be doing your homework

 _Mikey_ : Don't kill the music Leo

 _Mikey_ : MUSIC GIVES ME LIFE

 _Raph_ : Don't ignore me, Leo

 _Mikey_ : ice cream kitty likes it too

 _Mikey_ : he's rockin out

 _Mikey_ : D come down here. you gotta see this

 _Raph_ : Leo

 _Leo_ : I'm not ignoring you.

 _Leo_ : Why do I have to pick the place?

 _Raph_ : Cause it's my wedding gift to you

 _Leo_ : Then why can't I choose Seattle?

 _Raph_ : Rule 1 for the trip is that we have to get on a plane

 _Leo_ : My gift for you doesn't have any rules attached. And it certainly isn't going to cause any arguments

 _Raph_ : We're not arguing

 _Leo_ : My gift will cause the opposite of stress, actually

 _Leo_ : I really think you're going to like it

 _Donnie_ : What'd I say about keeping this line clean?

 _Mikey_ : whats wrong with seattle raphie?

 _Mikey_ : coming up to your room so you can explain this to me D

 _Donnie_ : No way Mikey. Do your homework.

 _Leo_ : Donatello, I am not insinuating anything

 _Leo_ : By the way, Donnie, have you emptied the dishwasher today?

 _Donnie_ : And now I'm beginning to regret this entire group text

 _Mikey_ : I love it!

 _Leo_ : Mikey. Do. Your. Homework.

 _Mikey_ : I'm loving it less.

 _Raph_ : I'll be home in an hour, Fearless.

 _Leo_ : Looking forward to it.

 _Raph_ : We're gonna talk about the trip

 _Leo_ : Maybe I can distract you

 _Donnie_ : Guys…

 _Leo_ : What? I'm making everyone dinner

 _Raph_ : GET OUT OF THE KITCHEN

 _Mikey_ : Raphie wont want to talk cause his tummy will be hurting! good one Leo!

 _Raph_ : Donnie go downstairs and get him out of the kitchen.

 _Leo_ : Be nice or I wont share my food with you

 _Mikey_ : promise?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Short, but fun to write

**Author's Note:**

> [You can find me on Tumblr here!](https://reader115-tmnt.tumblr.com/)


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